9 arrested with fake papers for vaccination priority

MANILA, Philippines — Six Chinese nationals and three Filipinos were arrested for presenting fake medical documents to get vaccinated in Tondo, Manila.

The suspects, identified as Chinese nationals Shi Jialiang, Dong Cai, Manuel Chan, Jessebele Ong Chan, Hong Hong Yi and Hing Yuen Wong, and Filipinos Aune Loresto, Jolina Deonila and Deolita Solieta were accosted as they were lining up to get vaccinated alongside persons with comorbidities at Sergio Osmeña High School on Sunday.

According to Manila Police District (MPD) director Brig. Gen. Leo Francisco, the Manila health department flagged the suspects for suspicious-looking prescriptions and similar medical certificates.

“The personalities were dubious. Some of them were tourists,” Francisco said, adding that the MPD will confirm with the Bureau of Immigration and the Chinese embassy about the status of the Chinese nationals before filing a case.

“So to you all, I will let you experience how difficult it is to be imprisoned in the Philippine jail system,” Manila Mayor Isko Moreno earlier warned.

PWD impersonators

Unscrupulous individuals reportedly used fake persons with disability (PWD) IDs to get in the priority list of the government’s vaccination rollout, Rep. Ronnie Ong disclosed yesterday.

According to Ong, in one vaccination center in Manila, 90 percent of recipients claim to be PWDs but “most of them appeared to be very healthy, fully functional and had no signs of any disability.”

Ong called on the government to crack down against these fraudsters, recall all old PWD IDs and re-issue new ones and create a national PWD database.

Jabs for judiciary

Acting Chief Justice Estela Perlas-Bernabe said employees of the judiciary might receive their COVID-19 jabs this month.

“I am pleased to inform you that our request for inclusion in priority population group A4 (category A4) of the Philippine National Deployment and Vaccination Plan for COVID-19 Vaccines has been granted by the NTF. At present, the NTF has communicated that vaccines arriving this April 2021 shall be partly allotted for the judiciary,” Bernabe said in a two-page letter.

The Supreme Court would now work on the swift rollout of the inoculation program, covering about 30,000 court officials and employees nationwide.

No direct solution

More than a year since the onset of the pandemic, the government views the crisis as a “problem with no direct solution at hand” except for vaccines, Interior Undersecretary Epimaco Densing III admitted.

“We are accepting that criticism and we are doing our best. Again, this is a problem which has no solution on hand. We do not know how the problem will move. We have no direct solutions right now except the vaccines and people need to be a part of the solution itself,” Densing said.

He said the government is making sure that agencies and LGUs were meeting the “Prevent-Detect-Isolate-Treat-Reintegrate” strategy. – Delon Porcalla, Neil Jayson Servallos, EvelynMacairan