A pharmaceutical firm accused of violating ethical standards on Tuesday filed a cyber libel complaint before the National Bureau of Investigation (NBI) against health expert and advocate Dr. Anthony Leachon for supposedly ruining the company’s good reputation on social media.
At a news conference held at Max’s Restaurant in Quezon City, lawyers of the Bell-Kenz Pharma, Inc., led by Joseph Vincent Go, threatened to file an administrative case and another civil suit against Leachon.
Leachon triggered a Senate inquiry on Bell-Kenz Pharma after reposting a whistleblower’s account online that the company was engaged in unethical business practices allegedly “worse than Pharmally.”
The firm was accused of enlisting doctors as multilevel marketing agents for their products, prescribing them to patients, in exchange of special perks such as plane tickets, luxury cars, cash and other expensive items.
“The series of posts of the respondents showed his (Leachon’s) malicious intent to defame Bell-Kenz, cast dishonor and destroy the reputation it has established in the medical community. By falsely accusing that Bell-Kenz is engaged in a multilevel Ponzi issue scheme and demanding that government agencies investigate us,” the complaint read.
Go, along with the other lawyers Desiree Perlez and Alex Avisado, said they are studying the option to file a petition to revoke the professional license of Leachon.
Senator Joseph Victor Ejercito earlier named the pharmaceutical company in conspiracy with physicians to prescribe their medicines.
“We are more than willing to participate in any hearing at the Senate to ferret out the truth,” Avisado said.
Perlez told reporters they have been assured by the NBI that it will look into their complaint.
In a press statement posted on his X (formerly Twitter) account, Leachon said he has already been informed about the cyber libel suit against him.
“While my legal team and I are currently reviewing the details of the said complaint, we view this legal action as a clear attempt by Bell-Kenz to redirect the narrative and intimidate critics, thus undermining the significant issues raised by our esteemed senators,”
“I see this as a desperate effort to silence truthful investigation and manipulate public opinion,” Leachon added.
The influential health advocate explained that his comments on the issue stemmed from his serious concerns for the integrity of the medical profession.
“I stand by my decision to bring these matters to public attention. It is crucial that such issues are debated openly for the sake of our medical community and the trust that the Filipino people place in their healthcare providers,” Leachon said.
Bell-Kenz Pharma was publicly identified in a recent Senate inquiry led by Ejercito and fellow Senators Raffy Tulfo, Jinggoy Estrada and Christopher Lawrence Go. The issue was subsequently referred to the Senate Blue Ribbon Committee for further investigation beginning this Wednesday, May 22, according to Leachon.
Editor’s Note: This is an updated article. Originally posted with the headline Bell-Kenz Pharma files cyber libel suit vs health advocate Tony Leachon