Philippines Tracks Down Rising Number of Secret COVID-19 Clinics

Bloomberg
·1-min read
In this May 19, 2020, photo provided by the Philippine National Police, Criminal Investigation and Detection Group (CIDG) Regional Field Units 3, police teams wearing protective suits inspect a seven-bed hospital beside a drug store during a raid at a residential villa, which was illegally turned into a medical facility, at the Clark Freeport and Special Economic Zone northwest of Manila. Philippine police have raided a small clandestine hospital and a drug store catering to Chinese citizens suspected to be infected with the COVID-19 disease and arrested two Chinese administrators. (CIDG Regional Field Units 3 via AP)

By Cecilia Yap

Philippine authorities are searching for more clandestine clinics allegedly treating foreigners with COVID-19 symptoms and will charge their operators in court.

“It seems that clandestine medical clinics catering mostly to foreign nationals have sprouted and have been operating without proper authority,” Justice Secretary Menardo Guevarra told reporters in a mobile-phone message. The health of those seeking treatment in these illegal facilities is compromised, he said.

The justice secretary said he has ordered the National Bureau of Investigation and the Bureau of Immigration to locate these underground clinics and file charges against the people running them.

Law enforcers raided a clinic in Makati City believed to be treating suspected Covid-19 patients, arresting two Chinese nationals, CNN Philippines reported on May 27. Earlier, authorities also raided a villa in a hotel complex in Pampanga province that was converted into a clinic for suspected Covid-19 patients.

© 2020 Bloomberg L.P.

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