Mandaluyong City Mayor Menchie Abalos leads the inoculation of tricycle drivers, vendors, and media practitioners belonging to the A4 priority group at Mandaluyong City Medical Center Mega Vaccination Site on Monday, June 7. Niño Jesus Orbeta/Philippine Daily Inquirer
MANILA, Philippines — Philippine National Police (PNP) chief Gen. Guillermo Eleazar has ordered the dropping of charges filed against a businesswoman over the alleged sale of COVID-19 vaccination slots in Mandaluyong City.
The PNP earlier identified Nina Ellaine Dizon-Cabrera, the founder and CEO of local make-up brand Colourette Cosmetics, as the third suspect behind the sale of vaccination slots.
“After a thorough review of the cases that were filed against those involved in the vaccine/vaccine slot for sale, our legal team came up with the conclusion that Ms. Nina Ellaine Dizon-Cabrera should not have been included in the criminal complaint based on the appreciation of the pieces of evidence on hand,” Eleazar said Saturday in a statement.
“With this development, I already instructed the CIDG (Criminal Investigation and Detection Group) to withdraw the cases filed against her before the Mandaluyong City Prosecutor’s Office in the soonest possible time,” he added.
Eleazar, however, noted that cases against the two other suspects Cyle Cedric Bonifacio and Melvin Gutierrez will remain.
Cabrera, Bonifacio, and Gutierrez were earlier charged with estafa under Article 315 of the Revised Penal Code, and violation of Section 21-H of Republic Act 11032 or the Anti-Red Tape Law of 2007 and Section 6 of Republic Act 10175 or the Cybercrime Prevention Act of 2012.
The PNP chief also ordered the relief of Police Lt. Col. Arnold Molete, chief of Criminal Investigation and Detection Group Eastern Metro Manila unit, “for a lapse in judgment and for command responsibility in the conduct of the investigation.”
“Let this serve as a reminder to all our personnel that if you are assigned to do a task, always make sure that you do your best, and do it right,” Eleazar said.