PhilHealth whistleblowers freed on bail

MANILA, Philippines — The ordeal of whistleblowers Liezel Santos de Leon and Edwin Roberto temporarily ended on Monday when they posted bail for the estafa charges filed against them in relation to the “ghost dialysis scheme” of their former employer, which defrauded Philippine Health Insurance Corp. (PhilHealth) of at least P800,000.

Lawyer Harry Roque, who represents the whistleblowers, said that three days after the couple was imprisoned, he was already able to raise the P1.22-million bail bond for them.

Earlier in the day, Roque said that their camp was just waiting for the judge’s approval of the bond as she was reportedly in the hospital.

The former presidential spokesperson added that they were hopeful that the two would regain temporary liberty after spending the weekend at Station 4 of the Quezon City Police District in Novaliches.

On Thursday, the whistleblowers were arrested on estafa charges after they were dropped from the Witness Protection Program. Metropolitan Trial Court Branch 34 and Judge Gloria Monica Lopez Lao ordered De Leon and Roberto’s arrest on Sept. 9

The couple had claimed an alleged scheme by former employer WellMed Dialysis Center defrauding PhilHealth by filing claims using dead patients. PhilHealth said WellMed should return more than P800,000 and pay a P5.2-million fine for its claims.