Five Vietnamese nationals were arrested by the National Bureau of Investigation - Cybercrime Division (NBI-CCD) for performing medical procedures despite having no government licenses in Barangay La Paz, Makati City, last week, on August 7.
NBI-CCD agents seized Phan Ngoc Duc, Tuan Anh Pham, Thi Dieu Linh Dinh, Vuong Thi Ngan, and Lo Thi Mai after a successful entrapment operation, in which the suspects were caught red-handed. Medical tools and other related paraphernalia were also confiscated.
The foreign nationals’ operations first came under the agency’s radar after it received a verified report, and it confirmed these individuals were offering cosmetic procedures such as brow lifts, lip surgery, fox eye surgery, under-eye fillers, thread lifts, and upper eyelid surgery on social media platforms.
Additionally, surveillance confirmed the suspects were conducting cosmetic surgeries without the requisite government licenses from the Professional Regulation Commission (PRC).
The suspects will face charges in violation of Republic Act No. 2382 (The Medical Act of 1959) in relation to RA No. 10175 (the Cybercrime Prevention Act of 2012), RA No. 9711 (the Food and Drug Administration Act), and RA No. 10918 (the Philippine Pharmacy Act).
The following day, NBI agents, working alongside Cybercrime Investigation and Coordination Center (CICC) officers, recovered cellular and data sniffers from a hotel two Malaysian nationals had lodged in. They were arrested a month earlier, on June 28.
