PNP issues subpoenas vs persons tagged in illegal vaccines-for-sale scheme
Pharmacy technicians prepare doses of the Pfizer-BioNTech vaccine at a mass COVID-19 vaccination event on January 30, 2021 in Denver, Colorado. (Photo by Michael Ciaglo / GETTY IMAGES NORTH AMERICA / Getty Images via AFP)
MANILA, Philippines — The Philippine National Police (PNP) on Wednesday issued subpoenas against the people involved in the alleged scheme where vaccination slots are being sold for as much as P10,000 to P15,000.
“In order to further ferret out the truth on this controversy, I am invoking the power given to me by the law as the Chief PNP to issue subpoena against the persons involved in the alleged sale of COVID vaccines and vaccine slots,” said PNP chief Gen. Guillermo Eleazar in a statement.
“Hindi katanggap-tanggap ang ganitong uri ng gawain, totoo man o hindi (this is unacceptable, whether it is a scam or not), and I will do everything in my power as your Chief PNP upang mabigyan ng linaw ang isyung ito (to solve this issue),” he added.
Republic Act 10973 gives the PNP chief, along with the Director and the Deputy Director for Administration of the PNP’s Criminal Investigation and Detection Group (CIDG), the authority to issue subpoenas in relation to the police’s conduct of investigations, particularly on high-profile crimes.
It states that, “The Chief of the Philippine National Police (PNP) and the Director and the Deputy Director for Administration of the Criminal Investigation and Detection Group (CIDG), referred to as the Criminal Investigation Unit in Section 35(b)(4) of this Act, shall have the power to administer oath, and issue subpoena and subpoena duces tecum in relation to its investigation.”
Eleazar first tasked the CIDG and the Anti-Cybercrime Group to investigate the said issue after a viral post on social media showed that queues for vaccinations against COVID-19 are being sold for P10,000 to P15,000 each.
It was later revealed that the police were able to identify one person who offered his high school friend two brands of COVID-19 vaccines, priced at P12,000 to P15,500, depending on the brand, through a messaging app in an initial investigation.
The PNP, however, said the person has gone into hiding and has already deactivated all his social media accounts.
“At least isang tao na ang kilala na ng PNP na sangkot dito kaya ang tamang gawin niya ay pumunta sa aking opisina upang magbigay linaw sa isyung ito. Huwag ka nang makipaglaro ng taguan sa ating mga kapulisan,” said Eleazar.
(At least one person has already been identified by the PNP, what he needs to do now is to go to my office to clarify this issue. Stop playing hide and seek with our cops.)
Meanwhile, Eleazar expressed his support for Malacañang’s call on local government units (LGUs) to pass an ordinance imposing penalties to persons selling COVID-19 vaccination slots.
“An ordinance that would explicitly state that COVID-19 vaccination slots are non-transferrable would be a very helpful measure to deter persons from selling or at least being tempted to sell these slots. The ordinance can also clearly define penalties for persons who still attempt to do so as well as LGU employees who might abet them,” Eleazar said.
A similar ordinance has already been signed in the city of Manila, prohibiting any person, institution, corporation, group or organization from selling, distributing or administering vaccines against COVID-19 for profit.
Eleazar explained that this ordinance would further maximize the country’s existing national laws that penalize the sale of unregistered medicine, including COVID-19 vaccines.
“Maaari masampahan ng kasong paglabag sa Republic Act 11332 ang magbebenta ng slots pero kung magkakaroon ng ordinansa ay mas magiging specific ang offense at ang kaparusahan para dito. Kaya hindi basta-basta makalulusot ang ganitong klaseng iligal na gawain,” Eleazar said.
(Those who sell vaccine slots can already be charged with violating Republic Act 11332. But with the ordinance, the offense and the punishment for it will be more specific. So this kind of illegal activity will be harder to get away with.)
