(Eagle News)–A Quezon City court has dismissed the charges of estafa and others filed against WellMed vice president Bryan Sy and several others in connection with the ghost dialysis mess.
In granting the motions to quash also filed by whistleblowers Liezel Aileen de Leon and Edwin Roberto, among others, Judge Janet Abergos-Samar cited the lack of jurisdiction of her sala, Branch 219.
She said the crime of estafa through falsification of documents where the defrauded amount does not exceed P40,000 “properly pertain to the first level courts.”
For this she said based on Batas Pambansa Bilang 129, first-level courts have exclusive jurisdiction over offenses punishable with imprisonment not exceeding six years.
She noted based on the Revised Penal Code, the maximum imposable penalty for the crime of estafa through falsification of documents where the defrauded amount does not exceed P40,000 is six years of imprisonment.
“The amounts defrauded from PhilHealth as alleged in each 17 informations range from P5200 to P39000,” she said.
“These cases are dismissed for lack of jurisdiction over the offenses charged without prejudice to their refiling before the Metropolitan Trial Court of Quezon City,” she added.
