NBI to probe illegal COVID hospital

MANILA, Philippines — The National Bureau of Investigation (NBI) will conduct a parallel probe into a clandestine hospital at the Clark Freeport in Pampanga reportedly catering to Chinese citizens infected with the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19).

Justice Secretary Menardo Guevarra said he would order the probe amid reports that two Chinese citizens who were arrested when agents of the Criminal Investigation and Detection Group (CIDG) raided the hospital on Tuesday last week were released on the same day.

No charges were filed against the suspects, according to the operator of Fontana Leisure Parks, where the medical facility was discovered.

The CIDG reportedly failed to file complaints against the two Chinese due to the delay in the issuance of a certification by the Food and Drug Administration that the drugs seized during the raid were not FDA-approved.

“If this is true, I will ask the NBI to step in and do its own investigation and instruct the Bureau of Immigration (BI) to look for them,” Guevarra said.

“These two foreigners should have been brought to the inquest prosecutor instead of being released,” he said.

Guevarra said the identities of those arrested should be verified, noting that their names did not match with the list submitted by the CIDG to the BI.