Tony Leachon sues Janette Garin for cyberlibel over 'killing a patient' remark

MANILA, Philippines — Health reform advocate Tony Leachon has filed cyberlibel complaints against House Deputy Speaker Janette Garin over false accusations she made in a Facebook video.

Leachon filed the complaint against Garin on Thursday, May 28, at the Quezon City Prosecutor's Office.

The complaint stemmed from a Facebook video posted on May 22, where Garin accused Leachon of "killing a patient without seeing the patient" and made other remarks that the physician described as "defamatory" and said affected his "professional competence."

"Kung ang reputasyon mo bilang doktor ay inatake, ay hindi naman tama 'yon. Kasi maraming pasensyang nagtawagan kung totoo raw na nakapatay ako ng pasyente. 'Yon ay assault to my profession," Leachon said in an interview with reporters.

(If your reputation as a doctor is attacked, that is just not right. Because so many patients called me asking if it was true that I killed a patient. That is an assault on my profession.)

"'Yun lang naman ang kayamanan mo sa paghahanapbuhay, yuyurakan pa," he added.

(That is your only treasure in your line of work, and yet they choose to degrade it.)

On the same day, Leachon filed a supplemental motion to add former Budget Secretary Amenah Pangandaman as a respondent to his complaint before the Office of the Ombudsman against Executive Secretary Ralph Recto.

In a statement posted on Facebook, Leachon said the supplemental verified complaint-affidavit formally named Pangandaman in connection with the alleged unlawful diversion of P60 billion in PhilHealth reserve funds and P107 billion in Philippine Deposit Insurance Corp. funds to the national treasury.

He said the filing supplements his original complaint lodged on May 25, 2026, and alleges that officials of the Department of Budget and Management, past and present, authorized, approved, or failed to prevent the budgetary releases and fiscal measures that enabled the questioned transfers.

“This Supplemental Complaint is filed in the interest of completeness, accuracy, accountability, and substantial justice. It is not about personalities, but about ensuring that every official who had a hand in this unlawful diversion of health funds is held accountable,” Leachon wrote on Facebook.