The city hall of Angeles City where 13 vaccination cards with fake signatures and license numbers were allegedly issued by a local government employee. (Photo by Jun A. Malig)
ANGELES CITY, Pampanga – An employee of the city hall here was arrested for allegedly issuing fake COVID-19 vaccination cards to 13 individuals, the city government disclosed on Tuesday, August 23.
In a statement, Mayor Carmelo Lazatin condemned what he described as the “horrific act” of Janine Lising, 21, a city hall employee assigned to the City Environment and Natural Resources Office here.
“This is an insult to the dedication and hard work of our vaccinators in prioritizing the safety of our kababayans. Ikinalulungkot ko po na nangyari ito,” Carmelo added.
The city government said Patrick Dimal, a staff member of the Gender and Development Office who is in charge of uploading vaccination records on the Department of Information and Technology portal, noticed some vaccination cards with fake signatures and license numbers “supposedly produced by Lising” on Aug. 18.
Dimal then coordinated with Police Station 3 and asked Glenda Aromin and Anna Unika Marieya Cabigting, the two vaccinators whose names were on the fake vaccination cards, to verify their supposed signatures.
“Both Aromin and Cabigting verified and stated that the signatures were not theirs. The two vaccinators compared their signatures on a blank sheet of paper against what was written on the suspected fake vaccination cards. The fake vaccination cards contained the falsified signatures and license numbers of the city’s vaccinators,” the city government said.
Dimal, described by the city government as an “authorized complainant,” filed a falsification of public document complaint against Lising, who was arrested and detained.
The city government statement on August 23 said that Lising was still in police custody.
The Inquirer tried to get comments from Lising at Police Station 3, but it turned out that she was no longer there.
A city assistant prosecutor had recommended the release of Lising on August 19, a day after she was arrested.
“Considering that the instant case needs further investigation, the respondent’s release from detention is recommended,” a copy of the prosecutor’s resolution stated.
The city government said it had already informed the 13 people that the vaccination cards allegedly issued by Lising were fake and there were no records of their vaccination at the Angeles City COVID-19 database center.
Lazatin has warned other city government employees against issuing fake vaccination cards or keeping mum about it. INQ