Technological Institute of the Philippines

Quezon City
GEE 002- LIVING IN THE IT ERA
Prelim Group work #2

GROUP MEMBERS: AR12FA1 July 23, 2019

PERILLO, JOHN CARLO L.

Whistle-blowers (Phil Health)

Bryan Sy and whistle-blowers Liezel Aileen De Leon and Edwin Roberto will have to post bail of
P1.224 million per person.

MANILA, Philippines – The Department of Justice (DOJ) said on Friday, June 14, that it has
indicted for 17 counts of estafa through falsification of official documents the owner of Wellmed
Dialysis Center and two whistle-blowers.

Wellmed owner Bryan Sy and whistle-blowers Liezel Aileen De Leon and Edwin Roberto, both
former Wellmed officials, must pay P72,000 each per count or P1.224 million per person.

The case involves charging Philippine Health Insurance Corporation (PhilHealth) for dialysis
claims of patient members who are already dead.

The 3 are detained at the National Bureau of Investigation (NBI).

The resolution was signed by Senior Assistant State Prosecutor Anna Doreen Devanadera, who
also earlier ruled that the warrantless arrest of the Wellmed officials was valid.

The whistle-blowers’ lawyer Harry Roque said De Leon and Roberto need to be charged before
they can turn as government witnesses.

The NBI has said it will continue its probe for possible supplemental complaints that can be filed
against officials or personnel of Philhealth itself.

The complaint was filed against 10 Wellmed employees, but 7 of them are at large.

“The inquest prosecutor meanwhile referred the case against seven other Wellmed
officers/employees for preliminary investigation. Said employees were not brought to the
prosecutor for inques,” Perete said.

The complaint said that a total of P808,600 was charged to PhilHealth by Wellmed, based only
on the claims processed by the whistle-blowers. – Rappler.com

Whistle-blower (MRT)

Metro Manila (CNN Philippines, March 8) — Malacañang will publicly "dissect" corruption
in the Metro Rail Transit-3 (MRT-3) management beginning next week, Presidential Spokesman
Harry Roque announced on Thursday.

Roque said he obtained an initial batch of documents from two whistleblowers who have
information on alleged irregularities in the MRT-3 contract.
"I have some documentary evidence already. Perhaps beginning next week I will devote one day
a week in disclosing facts and details about the plunder of MRT-3," said Roque.

He said the whistleblowers were former Aquino administration officials and "directly involved in
the MRT-3." They came forward about three weeks ago.

Malacañang will turn over the documents to the National Bureau of Investigation and
Department of Justice.

In an earlier radio interview, Roque said the whistleblowers pointed to a so-called "Pangasinan
group" which receives a third of the money meant for maintaining the MRT-3.

Roque said another third goes to "political machinery" and only the remaining third goes to MRT
maintenance.

The statements come after the Palace said it was eyeing new charges against previous
administration officials for the "miserable performance" of the train line.

Whistle-blower (fertilizer fund scam)

Whistleblower Jose Barredo Jr., the self-confessed “runner” in the P728-million fertilizer fund
scam in 2004, has lost his witness protection from the government, the Inquirer has learned.
Unlike other high-profile state witnesses who are accompanied by armed escorts whenever they
attend hearings at the Sandiganbayan, Barredo only had Philippine Charity Sweepstakes Office
Director Sandra Cam for company on Tuesday.

Barredo took the stand as a state witness in the P999,000 fertilizer fund scam case against Mayor
Mariano Malones of Maasin, Iloilo, before the antigraft court’s Seventh Division.
Although he is still immune from corruption charges thanks to a 2015 agreement with the
Ombudsman, Barredo no longer enjoys the benefits of the witness protection program (WPP).
Barredo said that his WPP coverage ended on April 1, 2017. “I was suddenly issued the
termination notice,” he said.

“We’re helping each other because nobody wants to help us,” added Cam, president of the
Whistleblowers Association of the Philippines. “But we’re continuing our advocacy to fight
against this corruption.”
Justice Secretary Menardo Guevarra confirmed the development and cited as the reason the
Sandiganbayan’s November 2016 dismissal of the P728-million plunder case against former
Agriculture Secretary Luis Ramon Lorenzo Jr. and Undersecretary Jocelyn Bolante.
“Mr. Barredo’s WPP coverage was indeed terminated in April 2017 due to the dismissal of the
fertilizer fund scam case,” Guevarra said in a text message.
Barredo was a representative of fertilizer supplier Feshan Philippines Inc., one of the contractors
that struck agreements with local government officials, supposedly including Malones, before
the 2004 polls.

Whistle-blower (George Rabusa)

The whistle-blower: From 1999 to 2002, retired Lt. Col. George Rabusa served as the budget head of the
Office of the Armed Forces' Deputy Chief of Staff for Comptrollership under then military comptroller
Maj. Gen. Carlos Garcia.

The situation: During a Senate inquiry on the plea bargain agreement between state prosecutors and
Garcia, Sen. Jinggoy Estrada presented Rabusa, who claimed that high-ranking military officials had
taken home millions of pesos of ill-gotten wealthover the years.

The revelation: Rabusa opened a can of worms with his surprise appearance at the Senate on January 27.
He claimed that in 2001, he personally delivered a pabaon(send-off) gift worth at least P50 million to then
AFP Chief of Staff Angelo Reyes’ quarters at Camp Aguinaldo. Aside from the pabaon, Reyes allegedly
received P5 million every month during his tenure as the AFP chief. Rabusa also alleged that two other
former AFP chiefs, Diomedio Villanueva and Roy Cimatu, received "start-up" money worth around P10
million. He admitted he took home about P500,000 from the funds-not the P50 million he was earlier
accused of.

In response to Rabusa’s claims, Reyes said he "(does) not remember accepting" the pabaon. He
later charged Rabusa and Estrada with graft. On the morning of February 8, he reportedly shot himself in
the chest in front of his mother’s grave at the Loyola Memorial Park in Marikina.

Whistle-blower (Chavit Singson)

The whistleblower: The Ilocos Sur governor exposed the "juetenggate" in October 2000.

The situation: At a hearing at the House of Representatives, Singson called then President Joseph
Estrada the "lord of all jueteng lords." He also accused Estrada of embezzling P130 million in tobacco
excise tax.

The revelation: Singson admitted to collecting jueteng payoffs and delivering the money to Estrada at
Malacañang or at the former President’s home. Citing ledgers said to contain records from over 20
provinces plus Metro Manila, Singson said Estrada took three percent of the approximately P50 million
total per day. Claiming there was a threat to his life when the police stopped his van that year, he said, "I
knew then that he (Estrada) wanted me dead. If I didn’t come out, they would surely have killed me."

Last year, Singson was reelected governor of Ilocos Sur.

The whistleblower: The then senior vice president of Equitable PCI Bank rose to fame in 2000, when
the impeachment trial against then President Joseph Estrada started.

The situation: As the surprise witness of the prosecution, Ocampo took the stand in Estrada’s
impeachment trial in December 2000. He was charged with bribery, graft and corruption, culpable
violation of the Constitution and betrayal of public trust.

The revelation: Ocampo revealed what she knew about the Jose Velarde bank account worth over P3.2
billion, said to be the bulk of Estrada’s reported ill-gotten wealth. She said Estrada and Jose Velarde were
one and the same, claiming she saw the former President repeatedly sign "Jose Velarde" on bank
documents. Ocampo brought an envelope containing evidence of the account to court but pro-Estrada
senators blocked its opening, according to Inquirer.net. This sparked People Power II, the mass
demonstration that ousted Estrada and catapulted Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo to the presidency.

REFERENCES:

https://www.rappler.com/nation/233061-wellmed-owner-whistleblowers-indicted-estafa-philhealth-scandal

https://www.spot.ph/arts-culture/47591/10-controversial-filipino-whistle-blowers

https://www.philstar.com/headlines/2013/09/26/1238415/know-pork-barrel-scam-whistleblowers

https://cnnphilippines.com/transportation/2018/03/08/palace-whistleblowers-mrt-plunder.html

https://www.sunstar.com.ph/article/422553

https://newsinfo.inquirer.net/983511/fertilizer-fund-scam-whistleblower-loses-witness-protection#ixzz5uK6i9HSZ