Doctors deny involvement in fraud, ethics case filed with PRC

by Rappler.com Posted on 03/17/2014 11:25 AM |Updated 03/17/2014 12:58 PM

MANILA, Philippines "We are not the criminals. We are the victims," officers of the Philippine Medical Association (PMA) said, after the Professional Regulation Commission (PRC) accused them of submitting fradulent registration documents.

Seeking accreditation for the Philippine Society for Stem Cell Medicine Inc (PSSCM) with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC), PMA officers submitted an endorsement letter from the PRC as required. That letter, which bore the signature of PRC Chairperson Teresita Manzala, was allegedly forged.

Led by PMA president Dr Leo Olarte, the PMA asked the PRC to conduct its own investigation into how the forgery happened. On Monday, March 17, the PMA declared it had nothing to do with the alleged faking of the PRC endorsement letter. If there is anyone to blame, it would be D and A Villaruel Services and Trading Co, a business registration company the PMA hired to handle PSSCM's registration application.

"We were never involved in the actual processing of the PSSCM SEC registration nor the processing of the PRC endorsement of PSSCM with SEC," said Olarte in a statement.

The PMA had "good and honest intentions" when they hired D and A Villaruel Services and Trading Co. The company processes documents for mayor's permits, BIR registrations and others.

"We are not the criminals, if there was fraud in the registration of PSSCM, we were the victims here," Olarte said.

Aside from Olarte, PSSCM incorporators include former PMA presidents Bu Castro, Rey Melchor Santos, Oscar Tinio and Jose Asa Sabili.

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Doctors deny involvement in fraud, ethics case filed with PRC