PNP alerts cops vs fake vaccination IDs amid relaxed travel rules

FILE PHOTO: A healthcare worker prepares a dose of China’s Sinovac Biotech vaccine for the coronavirus disease (COVID-19). REUTERS/Willy Kurniawan

MANILA, Philippines — Following the recent relaxation of travel restrictions within the country, the Philippine National Police (PNP) warned cops on Monday to be on alert for fake vaccination certificates.

This came after the national government on Sunday eased interzonal travel for fully-vaccinated individuals, now only requiring them to present proof of complete COVID-19 vaccination instead of COVID-19 test results.

Interzonal travel refers to the movement between provinces, highly urbanized cities, and independent component cities under different community quarantine classifications.

“We will coordinate and work closely with the LGUs (local government units) in enforcing this latest guideline. I am directing all police offices and units to be vigilant against those travelers who might use fake documents to prove that they are fully-vaccinated,” PNP chief Gen. Guillermo Eleazar said in a statement.

“Kung ang resulta ng RT-PCR (real-time reverse transcription polymerase chain reaction) test ay pinepeke, hindi malayong may masasamang loob na gumamit din ng pekeng vaccination documents. Hindi natin ito dapat hayaang mangyari,” he added.

(If the RT-PCR test gets falsified, it is not far off that malicious people will also use fake vaccination documents. We must not allow this to happen.)

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He then proceeded to remind travelers to observe minimum public health safety standards and to not be complacent.

“Doblehin pa din natin ang pag-iingat sa COVID-19. Ang pagiging fully-vaccinated ay hindi pa din lubusang garantiya na hinding-hindi na tayo puwedeng magkaroon ng COVID-19,” said Eleazar.

(Let’s even double the caution on COVID-19. Being fully vaccinated does not guarantee that we will never have COVID-19 again.)

He reminded travelers to abide by minimum public health safety standards by continuing to wear face masks, face shields and practicing social distancing.

Resolution 124-B from the Inter-Agency Task Force for the Management of Emerging Infectious Diseases, states that a person will only be considered fully vaccinated if it has been at least two weeks since he or she received the second dose of a two-dose COVID-19 vaccine, and two weeks since receiving a single-dose COVID-19 jab.

EDV