Belo files perjury raps against former patient

Now it’s celebrity doctor Dr. Vicky Belo’s shot at turning the legal tables on a dissatisfied ex-patient.

The cosmetic surgeon has filed perjury charges against businesswoman Josefina Norcio who complained of a botched butt job done by the Belo Medical Group, claiming she lied under oath in her affidavit.

In her complaint, Belo pointed out that Norcio allegedly lied under oath in her second complaint against the BMG.

Norcio had complained of a botched butt augmentation surgery which BMG performed on her using hydrogel, which she said caused an infection in her buttocks and gravely endangered her life.

The trader filed the complaint in 2009 against Belo and BMG surgeons doctors Ronaldo Cayetano and Francis Decangchon for estafa and reckless imprudence resulting in serious physical injuries.

Norcio also alleged that the three doctors violated the National Internal Revenue Code and the Consumer Act of the Philippines.

In 2010, the Quezon City Prosecutors Office dismissed the complaint for lack of evidence, prompting the businesswoman to file a petition for review at the Department of Justice which is awaiting resolution.

Last month, Norcio again filed another complaint against Belo et al based on the same case, but this time for estafa and violation of the 1959 Medical Act.

Belo however pointed out that the two complaints are similar and that “they all refer to one and the same set of facts and circumstances,” referring to the allegedly failed butt job.

She said that Norcio, in filing the second complaint, should have openly declared the first complaint she filed, as well as the DoJ petition for review and the administrative complaint at the Professional Regulatory Commission.

“Notably, the fact that respondent knew the falsity of the above statements and therefore, deliberately made,” the surgeon said in her complaint.

Perjury is defined under the RPC as the “willfull and corrupt assertion of falsehood under oath or affirmation administered by authority of law on a material matter.”