Authorities in the Philippines have uncovered clandestine hospitals providing plastic surgery services to fugitives and scam center workers to help them evade arrest. Police expect to shut down two such illegal facilities “in the coming weeks” following a raid on the first hospital in Manila’s southern suburbs in May, a police spokesman told the BBC.
Police raid reveals clandestine operations
During the raid in Pasay City, authorities seized hair transplant tools, dental implants, and skin-whitening IV drips. “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 believe that the two hospitals currently under surveillance are four times larger than the one in Pasay. Their clientele allegedly includes individuals working illegally in online casinos, or Pogos (Philippine Online Gaming Operations), which cater to players in mainland China where gambling is illegal.
Pogos linked to criminal activities
Police say Pogos have been used as cover for various criminal activities, including telephone scams and human trafficking. In the Pasay raid, three doctors—two from Vietnam and one from China—a Chinese pharmacist, and a Vietnamese nurse were arrested. None of the arrested individuals were licensed to work in the Philippines. Authorities also discovered a hemodialysis machine, indicating that the facility, approximately 400 square meters, offered a range of medical treatments in addition to plastic surgery.
“They look like regular clinics on the outside, but once you enter, you’ll be shocked by the type of technology they have,” Mr. Casio said. “These Pogo hospitals don’t ask for the proper identification cards… You could be a fugitive, or you could be an illegal alien in the Philippines,” he added.
Crackdown on illegal operations
The existence of the illegal hospital in Pasay City was uncovered through a tip-off. Pogos thrived under former President Rodrigo Duterte, who sought friendly ties with China during his six-year term ending in 2022. However, his successor, Ferdinand Marcos Jr., has launched a crackdown on Pogos due to their criminal associations.
“The president does not want the Philippines to be painted as a ‘scam hub’ and has given us a directive to go after scam farms because of how they have been targeting large numbers of people from all over the world,” Mr. Casio stated.
In December 2022, immigration officials arrested a suspected Chinese mafia member who allegedly underwent plastic surgery to avoid detection. Mr. Casio suggested that such cases might be linked to the underground hospitals. Recently, the mayor of a town north of the capital, Alice Guo, came under scrutiny after a Pogo scam center was busted near her office. She has also faced accusations of being a spy for China following questions about her birth records.