CEBU CITY – “I wanted to look beautiful but ended up looking like an ‘Avatar.’” THE eyes of a woman are badly swollen after she underwent a beauty enhancement procedure that was conducted by a fake doctor in Cebu City. (Photo from NBI-7).
This was the complaint of a woman who was among those who fell prey to a female suspect who allegedly pretended to be a doctor and performed beauty enhancement procedures. The National Bureau of Investigation-Central Visayas (NBI-7) said six women have already come forward to file a complaint against Dimber dela Cruz Celis. Celis was arrested in an entrapment operation inside a hotel in Barangay Lahug here on July 19.
The arrest was based on the complaint of Johanna Buenaflor Cepeda, who alleged that the suspect made her believe that she was a licensed doctor authorized to conduct beauty enhancement procedures. After the arrest, five other complainants showed up and all complained that they were duped by Celis. The complainants said their faces became swollen and itchy after they underwent nose lift, eye fillers, and laugh line correction.
The victims said they spent P5,000 to P24,000 for the medicine needed for the procedure. The suspect allegedly charged P5,000 for the injectable medicine without collagen and P7,000 for the medicine with collagen. The victims came to know the suspect through Facebook where her services were advertised.
“She said the medicine with collagen that will be used to improve the shape of our nose will last up to two years,” one of the complainants said. The procedure was conducted in April. After two months, the complainants started feeling ill.
“My face swelled up, became itchy, and painful. It was so painful that I would lose my balance when standing up,” a complainant said. Some complainants were also not able to work due to the ill-effects that they suffered due after undergoing the procedure.
The suspect, who is detained at the NBI-7 Headquarters, insisted that she is a certified aesthetician. She said the victims did not follow her instruction to avoid eating food that would cause adverse effects after they have undergone the procedure. Atty.
Wenceslao Galendez Jr., agent-on-case, said the suspect is not authorized to conduct medical procedures. “She has no authority to inject, treat, or whatever.
Being an aesthetician doesn’t give you the right to act like a doctor and a hotel is not supposed to be a place to treat a patient. It’s prohibited,” Galendez said. Charges for violation of Republic Act (RA) 2382 of the Medical Act of 1959 and RA 10175 or the Cybercrime Prevention Act of 2023 have been filed against the suspect.
Celis was the same person who was arrested in 2020 in Butuan for syndicated estafa. Celis is said to be the leader and founder of alleged investment scam Forex Rice Trading Group. A few years ago, the suspect was also the subject of a raid in Iloilo but she was not around at the time, Galendez said.
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