(UPDATED) Authorities raided a villa illegally operating as a makeshift medical facility for Chinese citizens suspected of being infected with the coronavirus at the Fontana Leisure Park and Casino in Clark.
The operation was conducted by the Criminal Investigation and Detection Group (CIDG) Regional Field Unit of the Philippine National Police (PNP)-Central Luzon, the Food and Drug Administration (FDA), and the Clark Development Corporation (CDC) on Tuesday, May 19.
Clark officials have ordered the closure and full lockdown of the leisure estate following the raid.
“This illegal activity not only violates the law, but also poses danger to individuals who potentially need medical treatment for the deadly disease. CDC does not and will never tolerate this inside the Clark Freeport,” the Bases Conversion and Development Authority (BCDA), the mother agency of CDC, stated.
Arrested during the raid were two Chinese nationals identified as Ling Hu, 45, alleged owner of the hospital, and Seung-Hyun Lee, 38, an alleged pharmacist.
The suspects were taken to PNP Regional Office in Camp Olivas, City of San Fernando. Authorities said they may have been operating secretly for about three months.
“They have practiced medicine and prescribed drugs without a license,” Police Brigadier General Rhoderick Armamento said by telephone. “The Chinese patients who were brought there may still be walking around in public and can infect other people.”
Aside from the two suspects, one patient was also found during Tuesday's raid at the residential villa that had been illegally turned into a seven-bed hospital and drugstore, Armamento added.
The male Chinese patient was moved to a Philippine hospital.
More than 200 suspected coronavirus rapid test kits and syringes were recovered from trash cans at the villa.
The hospital and drugstore are in a large room by a swimming pool at the back of the compound, according to Armamento and a police video.
CDC said it will also hold the management of Fontana accountable for allowing this to happen within their property.
“We assure Clark stakeholders, the locators, local communities and residents especially, that we will not stop until all those involved are prosecuted and punished,” the BCDA added.
The villa is in the Clark Freeport and Special Economic Zone, a former US Air Force base turned into a commercial and leisure center with upscale residential enclaves northwest of Manila.
Most of the medical facility’s clients may have come from the large number of Chinese citizens working in online gambling outfits in Clark, Armamento said.
The Philippines, backed by the Chinese government, has launched a crackdown on Chinese who mostly entered the country as tourists and then worked for the online gambling operations, which are illegal in China. The outfits cater mostly to Chinese clients in mainland China.
Illegal Chinese workers are likely to avoid regular Philippine hospitals because they might be identified and arrested, Armamento said.
Police put the residential compound under surveillance after receiving a complaint that a person infected with the coronavirus was being treated there. They coordinated with Department of Health and FDA officials prior to the raid, a police report said.
Police Lieutenant General Guillermo Eleazar, who heads a national police force enforcing quarantine restrictions, told The Associated Press that the illegal hospital and drugstore could endanger patients instead of saving them because they do not conform with government health regulations and standards.
The Philippines has reported more than 13,200 coronavirus infections, including 842 deaths, among the highest number in Southeast Asia.
Health Secretary Francisco Duque III told an online Senate hearing Wednesday, May 20, that the Philippines is experiencing a second wave of infections after cases spiked and then eased in recent months.
Senators stressed the need for coronavirus tests to be ramped up to contain infections. (With AP/SunStar Philippines)
Fontana Leisure Park, Resort - Villas, Hotel, Lodging, Golf, Water Park, Olympic Pool, Casino, Shopping, 24 Hour Chinese Restaurant, Sports Bar, Coffee Shop Teambuilding, Events at Clark, Pampanga Philippines Book/Check Fontana Resort Availability. Fontana Leisure Park Casino in Pampanga, Philippines has a 21,500 square foot casino floor featuring 100 slots, 45 table games, restaurants and hotel. Open 24 hours daily. Address Fontana Casino CM Recto Highway Pampanga, Philippines. Contact Information Tel: 63 2 843-8798 Website Casino Promotions. PAMPANGA, Philippines (4th UPDATE) – The Fontana Leisure Park inside the Clark Freeport Zone here was placed under “full lockdown” on Tuesday, May 19, after the discovery of an illegal makeshift.
| Fontana Leisure Parks | |
|---|---|
Waterpark | |
| Location | Clark Freeport Zone, Mabalacat, Pampanga, Philippines |
| Owner | Fontana Development Corporation |
| Operating license holder | Jimei Group (former) |
| Coordinates | 15°11′39.3″N120°30′34.5″E / 15.194250°N 120.509583°ECoordinates: 15°11′39.3″N120°30′34.5″E / 15.194250°N 120.509583°E |
| Website | www.fontana.com.ph |
Fontana Leisure Parks, formerly known as the Fontana Hot Spring Leisure Parks & Casino, is a water park and casino situated at the Clark Freeport Zone in Mabalacat, Pampanga, Philippines.
History[edit]
Engineering firm R.S. Caparros and Associates and developer R.N. Development Corporation was involved in the construction of Fontana Leisure Parks. The park situated within the Clark Special Economic Zone.[1]
The leisure complex hosted the first meetings of the year-long 2016 APEC Summit from January to February 2016.[2]
By early December 2016, Fontana Casino was shut down due to lack of permit from PAGCOR, following the detaining of 1,316 Chinese nationals suspected to be working illegally at the site on November 24, 2015. Jack Lam, the chairman of the operating firm, Jimei Group reportedly fled to Hong Kong four days later.[3]
Fontana Casino Clark Field Pampanga
On December 8, 2016 President Rodrigo Duterte, lifted the arrest order he imposed on Lam after the latter expressed that he would settle his obligations to PAGCOR. Duterte said that 'he takes pity of 6,000 plus Filipinos' who had jobs. Among the obligations reported is that Lam's firm is to pay 10% gaming revenue to PAGCOR. Previously Lam paid to the government-owned gaming firm only 1% gaming revenue under an 'original contract'.[4]
The resort ceased operations when the enhanced community quarantine in Luzon imposed due to the COVID-19 pandemic was imposed in March 2020.[5]
The whole complex was closed in May 2020 and placed under lockdown amidst the COVID-19 pandemic. The closure came after authorities raided a makeshift COVID-19 hospital for Chinese nationals operating inside the site without the appropriate permits.[6] The management of Fontana denied its involvement pointing out that the ownership of the villa where the makeshift facility was transferred to the Shidaikeji Technology Corporation and condemned the conduct of illegal activity inside its property.[5]
Facilities[edit]
Gambling[edit]
The casino hosts at least a hundred slot and video machines. 49 gaming tables which offers games such as Baccarat, Blackjack, Roulette. 4 VIP rooms and 1 'Premium Player's Pit' is housed within the Pai-Gow Fontana Casino.[7]
Other facilities[edit]
Aside from casino facilities, Fontana Leisure Parks hosts a hotel, a hot spring, swimming pool and a water park.[8]
Fontana Leisure Parks hosts an events venue called the Fontana Leisure Parks Convention Center. The convention center has hosted concerts by international artists such as Michael Johnson and Stephen Bishop, as well as business conventions such as the MICE CON and the 2015 APEC Summit.[9] It contains 9 function rooms.[10]
The Sports Center area of Fontana Leisure Parks consists of basketball, volleyball, and badminton courts, as well as an indoor venue.[11] The leisure park also hosts a 9-hole par golf course 28 within its grounds. Graham Marsh was responsible for the design of the golf venue.[12]
References[edit]
- ^'Fontana Leisure Parks'. R.S. Caparros and Associates. Retrieved 9 December 2016.
- ^Pavia, Joey (3 January 2015). 'Fontana at Clark prepares for Apec Summit'. BusinessMirror. Retrieved 9 December 2016.
- ^Cervantes, Ding (6 December 2016). 'Fontana casino shut down; Lam still in Phl?'. The Philippine Star. Retrieved 9 December 2016.
- ^Cigaral, Nicolas (9 December 2016). 'No more arrest order as Jack Lam to return to PHL to 'settle obligations' -- Duterte'. BusinessWorld. BusinessWorld Publishing Corporation. Retrieved 9 December 2016.
- ^ abGotinga, JC (23 May 2020). 'Fontana denies involvement in illegal COVID-19 clinic, defends villa owner'. Rappler. Retrieved 26 May 2020.
- ^'Fontana locked down for illegal Covid-19 hospital ops'. Philippine News Agency. 20 May 2020. Retrieved 26 May 2020.
- ^'Casino Profile'. Fontana Hot Spring Leisure Parks & Casino. Archived from the original on 17 February 2017. Retrieved 9 December 2016.
- ^Smith, Chuck (24 March 2014). 'Experience indulgence at Clark's Fontana Hot Spring Leisure Parks'. The Philippine Star. Retrieved 9 December 2016.
- ^'Convention Hall'. Fontana Hot Spring Leisure Parks & Casino. Retrieved 9 December 2016.
- ^'Function Rooms'. Fontana Hot Spring Leisure Parks & Casino. Retrieved 9 December 2016.
- ^'Sports Center'. Fontana Hot Spring Leisure Parks & Casino. Retrieved 9 December 2016.
- ^'9 Hole Pitch and Putt'. Fontana Hot Spring Leisure Parks & Casino. Retrieved 9 December 2016.
Fontana Leisure Parks And Casino Clark Pampanga
