Millions worth of alleged coronavirus disease (COVID-19) medicines continue to get smuggled into the country amid the surge in new cases of the dreaded disease.
This, as the Bureau of Customs-Manila International Container Port (BOC-MICP) bared Sunday, March 28 that it seized an accumulated P12 million worth of Chinese cigarettes, medical supplies, and alternative medicines for COVID-19 from two simultaneous operations in the cities of Mandaluyong and Paranaque.
“This operation is in response to smugglers who take advantage of the pandemic and especially Holy Week and ECQ (enhanced community quarantine) to smuggle illegal medicines and contrabands into the country,” Alvin Enciso, chief of Customs Intelligence and Investigation Service (CIIS) at MICP, said.
The first storage facility that BOC-MICP and Philippine Coast Guard (PCG) operatives swooped down on last Thursday, March 25 was in Mandaluyong. It was found to contain P5 million worth of boxes of various Chinese cigarettes and medicines such as Linhua Qingwen Jiaonang, which is used as a supposed treatment for COVID-19.
The discovery of a makeshift clinic and two intravenous sets at the facility also suggests that it is being used to treat COVID-19 patients.
Another team of BOC operatives and National Bureau of Investigation-Special Action Unit (NBI-SAU) agents inspected a second storage facility in Paranaque that same day. They discovered an estimated P7 million worth of Chinese cigarettes, facemasks, face shields, and medicines including the brand Linhua Qingwen Jiaonang.
This is not the first time that the bureau seized alleged COVID-19 medicines for entering the country illegally.
Both the FDA and the Chinese Embassy reminded the public to only purchase and consume authentic products through authorized distributors.