Manila court denies WellMed owner’s petition for writ of habeas corpus

MANILA, Philippines — A Manila court on Tuesday denied the petition for issuance of a writ of habeas corpus filed by the wife of the owner of WellMed Dialysis Center, the treatment center allegedly claiming benefits from the Philippine Health Insurance Corporation (PhilHealth) on behalf of its deceased clients.

The wife of Bryan Sy earlier filed the petition before the Manila Regional Trial Court Branch 20 to challenge the warrantless arrest conducted by the National Bureau of Investigation (NBI) on Monday.

READ: WellMed co-owner under arrest – NBI

“The instant petition is denied,” the ruling, signed by Presiding Judge Marivic Balisi-Umali, read.

“That there is no probable cause of the warrantless arrest of the subject has been held not a valid ground for the issue of a Writ of Habeas Corpus,” it added.

Following the denial of the petition, Senior Assistant State Prosecutor Anna Noreen Devanadera said Sy will remain detained at the NBI Detention Center while awaiting the resolution of the case.

NBI Public Information Office chief Nick Suarez earlier said the arrest was carried out based on the complaint filed by PhilHealth and WellMed whistleblowers Edwin Roberto and Liezel Santos, who were former employees of the treatment center.

Suarez said the NBI “has found sufficient basis to effect the arrest” based on the documents that PhilHealth and the whistleblowers have.

Roberto and Santos earlier exposed that PhilHealth continuously paid for claims of the dialysis center on behalf of a client who had already died. (Editor: Eden Estopace)