The Philippines’ Department of Justice will be working with the National Bureau of Investigation (NBI) and Bureau of Immigration (BI) to locate illegal medical clinics in the country that have begun operations as makeshift treatment centres for the coronavirus disease (COVID-19).
Justice Secretary Menardo Guevara stated that these illegal treatment centres target foreign nationals and may pose threats for the health of those who seek aid since the centres are running without authorization from the government.
“It seems that clandestine medical clinics catering mostly to foreign nationals have sprouted and have been operating without proper authority. Considering that they are not being supervised by the government, it is possible that the health of people who seek treatment in these illegal facilities is being compromised,” said Secretary Guevarra.
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This comes after authorities nabbed two Chinese nationals for operating a medical facility in Makati. The two, identified as David Lai and Liao Songhua, were arrested inside the Goldstar Medical Clinic and Pharmacy Corp. in Sampaloc St. in Barangay San Antonio after medical wastes were found leaking from the premises.
“I will, therefore, ask the NBI and BI to help the police in locating other similar underground clinics and the people running them, and if warranted, to file the appropriate charges against them,” furthered Secretary Guevarra.
Authorities found about Php5 million worth of rapid test kits as well as other medical devices. The two who claimed to be medical doctors failed to show credentials.
Guevarra earlier said two foreign nationals arrested in an earlier raid in an underground hospital in Pampanga should have been brought to the inquest prosecutor instead of being released, as per reports from the Philippine News Agency.
He has asked the NBI to step in and do its own investigation and the BI to look out for them.
The Criminal Investigation and Detection Group (CIDG) identified the suspects as Hu Ling and Lee Seung Hyun, the supervisor and pharmacist of the facility, respectively.
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They were both released on the same day of their arrest.
Reports from the Philippine News Agency further that the “hospital” that was raided on May 19 exclusively treated Chinese workers afflicted with Covid-19.
The villa where the illegal facility was located is under the exclusive control of Shidaikeji Technology Corp. (STC), a “support service company to (a) POGO (Philippine Offshore Gaming Operator).”
Authorities found seven beds, several trash bins full of syringes, medicines, and medical supplies during the raid.
