SUPREME COURT’s SECOND DIVISION DISMISSES COMPLAINT AGAINST PHILHEALTH CHIEF


THE Second Division of the Supreme Court recently dismissed outright the complaint for disbarment (docketed as A.C. No. 10846) filed by the Eye Center Conglomerate, Inc., represented by Dr. Raymond Evangelista, against  Alexander A. Padilla, President and Chief Executive Officer of the Philippine Health  Insurance Corporation (PhilHealth).
In a Resolution dated October 5, 2015, the SC Second Division resolved to dismiss the complaint for “violation of the Lawyer’s Oath and Canons of the Code of Professional Responsibility” against Padilla “there being no prima facie case against respondent.”  The dismissal of the case by the Second Division was immediate and without the need of the respondent’s comment.
The case stemmed from a press conference conducted in May 2015 where PhilHealth announced to the media the issuance of the STOP-Claims (Suspension of Transaction of Payments of Claims) Order on claims filed by two (2) eye centers due to an “abnormal jump” in their reimbursements in benefit payments on cataract operations spanning several years.
Meanwhile, PhilHealth Medical Specialist III Dr. Kim P. Gariando filed a perjury complaint against Dr. Raymond Evangelista, corporate director of the Eye Center Conglomerate, Inc., in connection with the latter’s filing of a verified libel com   plaint against the former before the Office of the City Prosecutor of Quezon City and docketed as I.S. No. XV-03-INV-15G08773, as a result of Dr. Gariando’s statements aired in GMA 7’s news program “Saksi” on the audit findings report on eye centers that his team submitted. In his Complaint-Affidavit for Perjury, Dr. Gariando alleges that “[i]n the case of respondent Evangelista’s Complaint-Affidavit for Libel filed against me, paragraph 10 thereof which accuses me of categorically stating QCEC as one of the two eye centers performing ‘hakot’ system, is a willful and deliberate assertion of falsehood as I did not mention respondent, QCEC or any eye center in the Lei Alviz interview shown in “Saksi.’”
Perjury is committed either by “falsely testifying under oath or by making false affidavit.” (END)

Reference:  Dr. Israel Francis A. Pargas
                    OIC-Vice President, Corp. Affairs Group
                    0915-6450808

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

PCG: China’s bullying in West Philippine Sea undermines international law --- Ghio Ong - The Philippine Star

MANILA, Philippines — Letting China sustain its aggression in the West Philippine Sea would make other countries doubt the strength of international law currently being asserted by the Philippines, Commodore Jay Tarriela of the Philippine Coast Guard (PCG) said. “Allowing China to blatantly disregard the established rules-based order threatens the very foundation that we all depend on,” he wrote in a post on X last Tuesday. He added, “If we permit this, countries worldwide may forget why this order was created in the first place. Nations could begin to doubt the significance of adhering to international law if powerful bullies can easily violate it.” Tarriela also said defiance of other countries to a rules-based order would result in the prevalence of cruelty. He wrote, “This could lead us back to a time when might makes right, undermining the global structures that keep human greed, savagery and barbarism in check. Such a scenario would not only invite challenges from aggressive ...
Read more

China ships maintain presence in key West Philippine Sea areas --- Michael Punongbayan - The Philippine Star

STAR / Michael Varcas MANILA, Philippines — While Chinese vessels in the West Philippine Sea (WPS) have decreased in number, they have maintained a presence in three key land features where naval and coast guard ships have intensified operations in the past seven days, according to the Philippine Navy. Latest monitoring by the Philippine Navy showed armed ships of the People’s Liberation Army Navy (PLAN) maintaining a menacing presence around the grounded BRP Sierra Madre in Ayungin Shoal, Panatag Shoal and Escoda Shoal. According to the Philippine Navy, there are 17 Chinese military vessels and 28 China Coast Guard (CCG) boats spotted inside the country’s exclusive economic zone (EEZ) between Sept. 23 and 30, or one vessel more than in the previous week Sept.17-23. Five of the warships were seen roaming around the vicinity of Escoda Shoal, along with 10 CCG vessels and 12 maritime militia vessels (MMVs). There are also two PLAN ships in Ayungin Shoal as well as 10 CCG boats and 12...
Read more

Social media seen as cause of rising intermarriages --- Helen Flores - The Philippine Star

MANILA, Philippines — The Commission on Filipinos Overseas (CFO) sees social media as the main reason for the rising number of Filipinos marrying or becoming partners of foreign nationals. In 2022, the CFO recorded 6,854 marriages or partnerships with foreign nationals, a 40.1 percent increase from the 4,891 “intermarriages” recorded in 2021. “First of all, what we see in the increase in the marriage rate of Filipinos or Filipinos with foreign partners is because of social media, (that) is number one; matchings; letters, introduction of their friends,” CFO chairperson Romulo Arugay said at the Bagong Pilipinas Ngayon public briefing yesterday. Arugay said the agency has been registering a high number of intermarriages since 2007, but the figures went down during the COVID-19 pandemic. From over 6,500 Filipinos who married foreign nationals, only 600 are men, he said. Most of them are married to Americans, Japanese, Germans, Canadians and Australians, Arugay said. Arugay warned Fi...
Read more