Secret Hospitals Give Criminals New Faces
Reports say that secret hospitals in the Philippines have been offering plastic surgery services to fugitives and scam centre workers to help them evade arrest.
A police spokesman said that two such illegal hospitals could be shut down "in the coming weeks" after police raided the first one in Manila's southern suburbs in May.
Hair transplant tools, dental implants and skin whitening IV drips were seized from the hospital in Pasay City two months ago.
"You can create an entirely new person out of those," said Winston John Casio, a spokesman for the Presidential Anti-Organised Crime Commission (PAOCC).
Authorities have placed two illegal hospitals under surveillance, believed to be four times larger than the one discovered in Pasay. These hospitals reportedly serve clients from online casinos, known as Pogos (Philippine Online Gaming Operations), which cater to players in mainland China where gambling is prohibited. According to Mr. Casio, Pogos have been used for criminal activities such as telephone scams and human trafficking.
In the Pasay raid, authorities arrested three doctors—two from Vietnam and one from China—a Chinese pharmacist, and a Vietnamese nurse, none of whom were licensed to practice in the Philippines. The facility, around 400 sqm, was equipped with a hemodialysis machine and offered various medical treatments including plastic surgery. Mr. Casio noted that these clinics appear ordinary from the outside but are surprisingly advanced inside.
Mr. Casio explained that these Pogo hospitals do not require proper identification, allowing fugitives and illegal aliens to seek treatment. Authorities were tipped off about the illegal hospital in Pasay City. Pogos gained prominence under former President Rodrigo Duterte, who maintained friendly relations with China. However, current President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. has initiated a crackdown on Pogos due to their criminal connections, aiming to prevent the Philippines from being labeled as a "scam hub." Mr. Casio stated that the president has directed them to target scam operations impacting people globally.
In December 2022, immigration officials arrested a suspected Chinese mafia member who allegedly underwent plastic surgery to evade detection, but was not unsuccessful. Such cases may be linked to the underground hospitals, Mr Casio said.
The mayor of a sleepy town north of the capital, Alice Guo, recently came under fire after a Pogo scam centre was busted near her office.
She has also been accused of being a spy for China after authorities questioned her birth records.
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