THE National Kidney and Transplant Institute (NKTI) yesterday said it is conducting an internal investigation on the alleged illegal organ trade recently uncovered by the National Bureau of Investigation (NBI).
In a statement, the NKTI said that it has opened an investigation on the issue after a nurse working at the NKTI was named as the supposed mastermind of the modus.
“We confirm that the said nurse is indeed an employee of the NKTI,” said the NKTI, referring to Allan Ligaya who was named by three suspects arrested by the NBI in Bulacan.
“We would like to assure the public that the management is already conducting its own investigation on the matter,” the NKTI said.
The hospital management issued the statement a day after the NBI presented three suspects in the supposed illegal trade of human organs in Bulacan.
NBI Director Jaime Santiago has presented to the media suspects Angela Atayde, Marichu Lomibao, and Dannel Sicat who were apprehended on July 11 in San Jose del Monte, Bulacan.
The operation that led to the arrest of the three and the rescue of “nine victims” stemmed from a complaint received by the agency regarding certain individuals supposedly engaged in kidney organ trafficking.
The three, according to Santiago, recruit their victims and facilitate the transfer of their kidney organs to their clients for a fee of P200,000.
NBI Senior Agent John Russel Sabado, who led the team that arrested the suspects, said the three pointed to Ligaya as their supposed ring leader.
Sabado has also said that the NBI has identified several doctors supposedly also involved in the same modus. He did not give additional details.
The Quezon City-based specialty hospital advised the public to only transact within the establishment with regards to organ donation and transplantation.