No proof yet on sale of COVID-19 vaccination slots – PNP chief

PNP chief Gen. Guillermo Eleazar –Niño Jesus Orbeta/Philippine Daily Inquirer

MANILA, Philippines — The Philippine National Police has begun investigating viral claims on social media that slots in the queues for vaccinations against COVID-19 are being sold for as much as P10,000 to P15,000, PNP chief Gen. Guillermo Eleazar said on Sunday.

But, so far, Eleazar said the PNP Criminal Investigation and Detection Group (CIDG) found no evidence that the supposed sale of queue slots actually happened as claimed by several netizens on social media.

“I talked to the director of the PNP-CIDG and we still have not confirmed that [any vaccine or inoculation slot sale] has happened and have not made arrests,” Eleazar told a press conference at the Quezon City police headquarters in Camp Karingal.

Text messages

“We have the copies of the exchange of text messages that went viral and the anticybercrime group was tasked to investigate this,” he added.

He said, “We have to find out if this is true or not, but definitely we still have no evidence that this actually happened.”

The PNP chief noted that San Juan City Mayor Francis Zamora himself had discounted the possibility of the illegal activity in his city but vowed to sue anyone who may attempt to do so. INQ