One of the owners of legally troubled WellMed Dialysis Center of Quezon City, Dr. Bryan Sy, posted bail on Saturday through his lawyer which prompted the court to immediately order his release from the custody of the National Bureau of Investigation.
Sy, one of the owners of WellMed, was arrested on Monday on suspicion of estafa through falsification of documents in relation to the alleged scheme involving deceased patients’ PhilHealth benefits.
“He [Sy] posted a cash bail bond totalling P72,000,” Sy’s counsel Rowell Ilagan said.
But Ilagan noted that “despite the release order issued by the court, the NBI refused to release Bryan Sy.”
It was not immediately clear why the NBI refuse to release Sy from its custody and what legal remedies Sy would avail himself of following the filing of the cash bond and the order of the court.
Manila Metropolitan Trial Court Branch 6 Judge Jerome Jimenez directed the NBI to release Sy, who was accused of ordering his former employees to make dialysis treatment claims from state-run Philippine Health Insurance Corp. (PhilHealth) on behalf of dead patients.
Sy was arrested while attending an NBI probe on Monday.
Roberto and De Leon had bared the alleged WellMed racket, alleging the Center made P800,000 in ghost PhilHealth claims from 2016 to 2018.
In its order, the court said that although no information or criminal charge had been filed against Sy, the rules allowed him to post bail.
Sy on Thursday wrote Justice Secretary Menardo Guevarra and NBI Director Dante Gierran to demand his release because his detention had exceeded 36 hours.
Under Article 125 of the Revised Penal Code, authorities have a maximum of 36 hours to detain a suspect without filing any charge in court.
READ: Senator chimes in on PhilHealth
READ: Duterte: Prosecute all in dialysis mess