5 stem cell doctors face raps, revocation of license

MANILA, Philippines - Five doctors face legal charges and possible revocation of their medical licenses for submitting fabricated endorsements from the Professional Regulation Commission (PRC).

In a statement, PRC chair Teresita Manzala yesterday said complaints were filed against doctors Leo Olarte, Bu Castro, Rey Melchor Santos, Oscar Tinio and Jose Asa Sabili – all incorporators of the Philippine Society for Stem Cell Medicine (PSSCM) – for unprofessional, dishonorable and unethical conduct.

Manzala said she directed the Professional Regulatory Board of Medicine (PRBOM) to initiate, investigate and file charges against the five doctors before the PRC’s legal division.

The Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) previously revoked the corporate registration of the PSSCM after the group was found to have submitted a fabricated endorsement from the PRC.

Manzala requested the SEC to conduct an investigation based on the forged signature in the document.

The SEC then served summons on the incorporators, directing them to file their answer to the complaint.

The incorporators, however, failed to submit any reply, prompting the SEC to revoke their corporate registration.

The incorporators later denied participation in obtaining the SEC registration, and instead pointed to one “Dr. Mike Aragon” as the one responsible for its acquisition.

In a notarized affidavit submitted to the PRBOM, Aragon said he paid P15,000 to a trading company for them to file the necessary documents for the incorporation of the PSSCM.

Aragon said that after the payment, he no longer had any involvement in the processing of the document.

Sabili is the chairman of PSSCM while Santos is the president.

Tinio is the vice president; Castro, secretary and Olarte, treasurer and legal counsel.

Olarte is the current president of the Philippine Medical Association (PMA).

Manzala told The STAR that her signature was not only falsified in the endorsement letter submitted by the PSSCM, but the group also used an old “template” of the PRC for such document.

She said that the PSSCM had also invoked Republic Act 8981 or the PRC Modernization Act of 2000 and Republic Act 9268 or the Philippine Veterinary Law of 2004.

According to Manzala, the PRC, through the PRBOM, is monitoring if the PSSCM continues to operate despite the SEC order.

Olarte, meanwhile, said they are “victims of a syndicate either at the PRC or SEC.”

He added that the falsified document did not come from the PSSCM but was transmitted by the PRC directly to the SEC as the requesting agency.