The criminal charges filed against the owner and officers of WellMed Dialysis Center in connection with the fraudulent claims from the Philippine Health Insurance Corporation (PhilHealth) was dismissed by a Quezon City court.
This, as Quezon City Regional Trial Court Branch 219 yesterday granted the motion to quash filed by WellMed co-owner Dr. Bryan Sy on the 17 counts of a complex crime of estafa through falsification of public document charges.
The charges against Sy were filed by the National Bureau of Investigation and PhilHealth against him, whistleblowers Leizel Aileen De Leon and Edwin Roberto, and other unidentified individuals.
Judge Janet Abergos-Samar said in her resolution dated 5 August the cases have been dismissed for lack of jurisdiction over the offenses charged, without prejudice to refiling before the Metropolitan Trial Court.
The judge said since the amounts which PhilHealth was allegedly defrauded only ranged from P5,200 to P39,000, the maximum imposable penalty for estafa under the Revised Penal Code is two months and one day in jail to six months, while for falsification of public or official documents by a private individual carries a maximum penalty of two years, four months and one day to six years imprisonment.
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She said the metropolitan trial court would have proper jurisdiction over the case because the maximum imposable penalty is only six years.
Under the law, only the maximum imposable penalty of the most serious offense alleged in a complex crime is considered in determining the jurisdiction of the court.
However, the court explained the dismissal was not due to the accused being innocent of the criminal charges.
“The court emphasizes that the dismissal of these cases has nothing to do with the guilt or innocence of the accused. The cases are dismissed because based on the crime charged in the information, and the applicable penalty, it is not the Regional Trial Court which has jurisdiction to hear and decide the cases, but the first level courts or the Metropolitan Trial Courts. The accused may still be prosecuted, and the cases may still be filed, before the said courts notwithstanding the dismissal decreed herein,” the resolution said.
