Multinational Village officials in Parañaque City on Monday urged law enforcement agencies to conduct another inspection at the subdivision following intelligence reports that there were more illegal Chinese medical clinics in the area.
“If there are more illegal Chinese clinics or hospitals inside Multinational Village, let us raid and finish (them) off now,” said Arnel Gacutan, president of Multinational Village Homeowners Association Inc. (MVHAI).
Local authorities raided last Saturday the second illegal clinic in the subdivision reportedly being used to treat and test coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) patients, mostly Chinese nationals.
Chinese national Yongchun Cai, 51, manager of the establishment, was arrested but he refused to cooperate with police investigators, police sources said.
Agents of the National Bureau of Investigation-Task Force Against Illegal Drugs raided another clinic inside a house on Timothy Street, also in Multinational Village on May 29.
Arrested during the first raid were Liang Junshai, Pingqiang Long, Yanyun Jiang, and Tang Hong Shan.
Gacutan said the MVHAI was respecting the NBI’s jurisdiction over the case.
He explained that the association had no authority to pursue a separate investigation and deferred to the authorities as to the disposition of the case.
“We do not want to meddle or usurp jurisdiction from our duly constituted authorities, but we are actively cooperating with them,” he said.
A week after the NBI raid, city police station commander Col. Robin Sarmiento issued a statement confirming that there was a possibility there are more underground Chinese clinics in Parañaque because there were many Chinese nationals who reside in the city.
This prompted Mayor Edwin Olivarez to instruct Sarmiento to launch an immediate operation against the establishment.
Residents informed Olivarez that several Chinese nationals were seen frequently entering the commercial buildings, rented homes, and condo units in the village.
According to Gacutan, they have recorded about 3,500 Chinese nationals residing in the subdivision since December last year. Majority of the Chinese are employees of Philippine Offshore Gaming Operators or POGOs.
However, the foreigners are now only about 1,200 after they were stranded in their respective countries after the national government imposed a nationwide lockdown last March.