Two foreigners have been arrested in Paranaque City for allegedly operating an unlicensed pharmacy, the National Bureau of Investigation (NBI) said on Tuesday, Oct. 22.
The NBI identified those arrested as Li Ming and Sun Zhen Fu who work as cashier and warehouseman, respectively, at Baima Hui Life Supermarket in Paranaque City.
The bureau said the two foreigners were arrested during a buy-bust operation last Oct. 14 that was conducted by operatives of the NBI’s Organized and Transnational Crime Division (NBI-OTCD).
Following their arrest the two suspects were presented for inquest before the Paranaque City Prosecutor’s Office for for illegal sale of medicine under Section 11(j) of Republic Act (RA) No. 3720 or the Food, Drug and Cosmetic Act, as amended by RA No. 9711 or the Food and Drug Administration Act of 2009); and illegal dispensing or selling pharmaceutical products under Section 45(a) and (d) of RA No. 10918 or the Philippine Pharmacy Act.
The NBI said “the operation stemmed from intelligence information regarding unauthorized or illegal operation of a pharmacy identified as Baima Hui Life Supermarket (Baima) in Parañaque City.”
It said the “NBI-OTCD conducted a surveillance operation against Baima, which confirmed that Baima is indeed engaged in selling and offering for sale medicines and other pharmaceutical products without the necessary permits/licenses from the Food and Drug Administration (FDA).”