MANILA, Philippines — A lawmaker at the House of Representatives filed a resolution seeking to investigate the illegal sale of kidneys and other internal organs in the Philippines, and the alleged involvement of some nurses and doctors in the “deal with the devil.”
AGRI Party-list Rep. Wilbert Lee’s House Resolution 1803, filed last July 18, states that the illegal practice of selling kidneys and other internal organs — which he described as “human bopis for sale” — targets poor Filipinos and goes against existing laws, specifically the Organ Donation act of 1991 and the Expanded Anti-Trafficking in Persons Act of 2012.
According to the World Health Organization, the Philippines is one of the global hotspots for organ trafficking aside from India, Pakistan, China, Egypt, and Colombia.
He said in his resolution that “many kidney donors, particularly those from vulnerable communities such as slums, are often unaware of the risks and side effects of the operation.”
“Ang nakakabahala dito, may mga sangkot pa umanong doktor at nurse–sila na pinagkakatiwalaan ng ating mga kababayan, pero sila pa palang nagtutulak lalo sa kanila sa kumunoy ng kapahamakan,” Lee said during a symposium in Bacolod City on Thursday.
[What is more troubling is that some doctors and nurses, with whom the people entrust their lives, allegedly become accomplices to a crime that drags the victims into life-threatening conditions].
Lee’s resolution came after the National Bureau of Investigation (NBI) on July 17 arrested three people in San Jose del Monte, Bulacan for involvement in the alleged human organ trade.
National Kidney and Transplant Institute (NKTI) staff nurse Allan Ligaya has been implicated as the leader of the alleged illegal organ trade, who remains at large, while the NBI summoned three doctors who supposedly performed the blood matching of donors.
Reports indicate there were nine victims who were lured into donating their kidneys for P200,000. They were supposedly held in a house, and were later subjected to various processes for the kidney transplant.
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