PNP told: Arrest, prosecute fakers of COVID-19 test results
MANILA, Philippines — The Department of the Interior and Local Government on Monday directed the national police “to prosecute to the fullest extent of the law” those caught faking coronavirus test results.
In a statement, DILG Officer-in-Charge and Undersecretary Bernardo Florece, Jr. said that the Philippine National Police "must do its utmost to ensure that all perpetrators are arrested and brought to justice."
Submitting falsified documents amid the coronavirus pandemic is penalized by virtue of Republic Act No. 11332, or the Mandatory Reporting of Notifiable Diseases and Health Events of Public Health Concern Act, and Republic Act No. 11469, or the Bayanihan to Heal as One Act.
The former criminalizes the "tampering of records relating to notifiable diseases or health events of public health concern, which includes official medical test results or medical certificates, or such other documents and records issued by public health authorities."
"The DILG directs the PNP to arrest and prosecute individuals who are forging their RT-PCR tests. This is a crime and is punishable under our law. We are also warning those people planning to fake their test certifications. Don't go ahead with it because if you do, we will make sure you end up behind bars,” he said in mixed Filipino and English.
"Huwag po tayong matigas ang ulo. Magpa-test po tayo para sa kabutihan nyo, ng inyong pamilya, at ng lahat."
(Let us not be stubborn. Let us all get tested for the good of you, your family, and everyone around you.)
RELATED: Charges eyed vs tourists over fake swab test results
On February 3, the Department of Tourism confirmed that three tourists who entered Boracay island with counterfeit RT-PCR test documents had tested positive for the coronavirus. The three tourists have since been quarantined, while concerned authorities have already been tapped for contact tracing and monitoring.
"Iniiwasan natin na maulit ang nangyari sa Boracay... Kung nakapasok ang tatlong ito na nagpositibo sa COVID sa Boracay ay mas malaking problema, mas madami pang madadamay sa kalokohan ninyo," Florece said.
(Let's avoid a repeat of what happened in Boracay. That these three entered Boracay while COVID-positive is a bigger problem. Many more were affected by their nonsense.)
Earlier in December, a cop under the Police Regional Office 11 in the Davao Region was slapped with administrative cases of grave misconduct and dishonesty for presenting a falsified RT-PCR test result upon her arrival at the Francisco Bangoy International Airport.
"An administrative case of grave misconduct and grave dishonesty has been filed against her and she is now facing the maximum penalty of dismissal from the police service," Police Brig. Gen. Steve Ludan, PNP Crime Lab 11 director, said, according to a statement issued by the Davao City local government.
No criminal charges against the now-former cop were mentioned outside of her removal from the service.
Tourism Secretary Bernadette Romulo-Puyat last month issued a stern warning to those who are planning to fake their COVID-19 test results.
“Every time you go to a tourist destination and you faked your test, you are not only endangering yourself but also the locals,” she said in a press conference last January 12.
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