Dermatologist posts bail for Estafa case

CEBU CITY, Philippines — A 51-year-old licensed aesthetic dermatologist is set to be released after posting bail on Tuesday, May 18, 2021.

Police Lieutenant Colonel Randy Caballes, chief of the Cebu City Police Office Intelligence Unit, identified the accused as Dr. Maria Elinor Delfino Ganas. She was arrested by the personnel of the Cebu City Intelligence Unit on Monday, May 17, following the warrant of arrest issued against her for estafa after allegedly failing to pay P250,000 in debt to a client in 2014.

According to Caballes, Ganas was ordered to pay P20,000 as bail for her release. As of this posting, her release papers are being processed.

Caballes said that they arrested Ganas in her clinic located inside a department store along Fuente Osmeña Boulevard here on Monday at around 4:30 p.m. The warrant of arrest was issued by Judge Allan Francisco Garciano last May 14, 2021, in Mandaue City.

Ganas reportedly has clinics in Cebu City and Mandaue City.

Based on their investigation, Caballes said that in 2013, Ganas was asked by a hospital in Barangay Banilad, Mandaue City, to treat a client for skin problems due to contact with ‘acid.’ The said client was referred to her to undergo skin treatment. A year after, Ganas reportedly borrowed money from the said client, amounting to P250,000. Caballes presumed that these two already established a bond with each other. Caballes added that Ganas told them that she already issued six checks to pay her debt.

However, the complainant said that these checks allegedly bounced. In 2016, Caballes said that the two agreed to a settlement but this did not progress. In the same year, the complainant filed an Estafa case by False Pretenses under Article 315 of the Revised Penal Code.

/bmjo