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PNP to probe illegal vaccine slots selling

By Christopher Lloyd Caliwan

May 22, 2021, 1:12 pm

MANILA - Philippine National Police (PNP) chief, Gen. Guillermo Eleazar on Saturday said the Criminal Investigation and Detection Group (CIDG) will be coordinating with local government units (LGUs) to investigate the reported selling of Covid-19 vaccination slots and various vaccine brands by unscrupulous individuals.

This, after the Department of the Interior and Local Government (DILG) has ordered the PNP a probe relative to viral social media posts showing that vaccine slots in different LGUs were being sold by persons who set prices depending on the Covid-19 vaccine brand.

The cities of Mandaluyong and San Juan were mentioned in the messages.

Tutugisin natin para panagutin sa batas ang mga pasimuno at gumagawa ng ganitong modus. As per directive of our SILG Eduardo Año, I have ordered the Criminal Investigation and Detection Group to identify and arrest the person or persons behind these scams. Inatasan din natin ang CIDG na makipag-ugnayan sa ating mga LGUs (We will go after leaders of the modus. We also directed the CIDG to coordinate with the LGUs),” Eleazar said in a statement.

He said the Food and Drug Administration has not approved the marketing or sale of any Covid-19 vaccine which makes selling or any kind of this activity illegal.

Citing the initial report that the PNP received, he said the vaccination slots are offered for a price ranging from PHP10,000 to PHP15,000 depending on the vaccine brand.

Merong espesyal na lugar sa impiyerno ang mga ganitong uri ng tao pero ngayon pa lang, gagawin natin ang lahat para mapanagot sila sa kalokohang ito (There's a special place in hell for this type of people and we are going to do our best for them to be punished for this atrocity),” Eleazar said.

The vaccines, he said, were donations and bought by the government to be given free to the citizens so it was unacceptable that scammers were making money out of it.

He advised the public that they do not have to pay for the vaccination, adding that all they have to do is to have themselves registered and wait for their turn to be vaccinated because there is a priority list being followed by the national government.

He also urged the public to immediately report to authorities anyone selling vaccines or vaccination slots.

Information or concerns may be relayed to the PNP through its E-Sumbong complaint monitoring and referral system.

The "E-Sumbong" platform includes the PNP's official hotlines, social media accounts, and email where the public may file reports, complaints, or concerns that need immediate action.

The public is urged to report any complaint or concern on their community or even PNP personnel involved in any irregularities through its official SMS hotline -- 0919-160-1752 (Smart); 0917-847-5757 (Globe).

Information may also be forwarded to their email address: [email protected] or through social media - facebook.com/OfficialPNPhotline and web portal (https://e-sumbong.pnp.gov.ph). (PNA)

 

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