Philippine National Police chief Gen. Guillermo Eleazar. INQUIRER file photo / NIÑO JESUS ORBETA
MANILA, Philippines — The Philippine National Police (PNP) urged the public to get their vaccines only from local government units (LGUs) and authorized companies as it tasked the Criminal Investigation and Detection Group (CIDG) to track down illegal sellers of COVID-19 jabs.
PNP chief Gen. Guillermo Eleazar also ordered the CIDG to work closely with other police units in order to put a stop to the illegal selling of vaccines, which he said could endanger the health of individuals.
“Huwag po tayo mag-apura at maghintay lang tayo ng bakunang magmumula sa mga LGUs o sa ilang mga otorisadong kumpanya para garantisadong tunay at mabisa kontra COVID-19,” he told the public in a statement Tuesday.
(Let’s not rush and just wait for the vaccine that comes from the LGUs or other authorized companies to guarantee the people are getting a genuine and effective vaccine against COVID-19.)
“Paalala lang natin sa publiko na mapanganib iturok ang mga smuggled na bakuna dahil lumalabas na peke ang mga ito. Imbes na makakuha tayo ng immunity mula sa sakit ay lalong maging dahilan ito ng ating kapahamakan,” he added.
(We are just reminding the public that it is dangerous to inject smuggled vaccines because they turn out to be fake. Instead of gaining immunity from the disease, it will only cause more harm to us.)
He reiterated that the COVID-19 jabs being rolled out under the government’s inoculation program are free.
In addition, Eleazar noted that the Food and Drugs Administration (FDA) has not approved the commercial sale or distribution of any COVID-19 vaccine in the country.
The PNP chief issued the statement following the arrest of a nurse from Manila who allegedly attempted to sell 300 doses of Sinovac’s COVID-19 vaccine.
“Kung totoong smuggled ang mga nabebentang bakuna, aalamin natin ang source nito at kung sino ang nasa likod ng pagpupuslit ng mga ito,” the PNP chief added.
(If they were really smuggled, we will find out its source and who is behind this.)
“We are constantly coordinating with the Food and Drugs Administration and the Department of Health regarding our operations against the illegal sale of vaccines,” he also said. — Sofia Vertucio, INQUIRER trainee
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