The owner of a dialysis center marked in the Philhealth fraud exposure was arrested on Monday, June 10, without a warrant.
Dr. Brian Sy, one of the owners of the Dialysis Center & WellMed Laboratory, will be taken to the Department of Justice (DOJ) for examination on Tuesday, June 11.
"The prosecutor will definitely ask that (why was he arrested without a warrant). Let's wait for the NBI's answer, "Justice Secretary Menardo Guevarra told in a text message Tuesday morning.
The National Investigation Bureau arrested Sy on Monday after doctors went to their headquarters with a subpoena.
Sy's WellMed was marked in a scandal that allegedly continued to charge dialysis fees to Philhealth members long after they died, tricking state health insurance providers.
Whistle-blower - a former WellMed employee - said that PhilHealth approved and issued payments for dialysis treatment "ghost patients" or dead patients.
Angry at the presentation, President Rodrigo Duterte made a public call to the NBI on Sunday to "catch the idiot."
NBI public information officer Nick Suarez told reporters Sy was arrested on the basis of complaints filed by the reporter and Philhealth himself.
"The NBI found an adequate basis for making arrests, because he was already here," Suarez said.
Arrest without a warrant is only permitted under conditions determined by the rules of criminal procedure: when the person commits a crime before an officer, or when there is a possible reason to believe a crime has just been committed, or if it is a prisoner escaping from prison
Asked on their legal basis, Suarez simply said, "The NBI has the authority to arrest."
The DOJ Prosecutor must decide whether an arrest without a warrant is valid.
Sy is facing complaints about matters, falsification of documents, and violations of PhilHealth's laws.