Raps filed vs. 3 suspects in illegal sale of vaccination slots —Eleazar

The Philippine National Police (PNP) on Wednesday said it filed several complaints against three suspects behind the alleged sale of vaccination slots before the Mandaluyong City Prosecutor’s Office on Monday.

In a statement, PNP chief Police General Guillermo Eleazar identified the suspects Cyle Cedric Soriano Bonifacio, who has earlier surrendered to authorities, Melvin Polo Gutierrez, and Nina Ellaine Dizon-Cabrera, who exposed the scam on her Twitter account.

They were charged with estafa and violation of Anti-Red Tape Law of 2007 and Cybercrime Prevention Act of 2012, according to Eleazar.

“Noong sumuko itong si Bonifacio sa atin at nagbigay ng pahayag, pinangalanan niya si Gutierrez, isang fire at barangay volunteer, na umano’y tumulong sa kanya na makakuha ng vaccination slot,” he said.

(When Bonifacio surrendered to us, he named Gutierrez, a fire and barangay volunteer, as one who allegedly helped him in claiming vaccination slots.)

Bonifacio claimed he participated in such transaction only once and received a P12,000 “reward” through an online bank transfer.

“It was from here that he claimed he got the idea to offer vaccination slots for cash. He tried to offer the service to his former high school classmate who rejected his sales pitch and made the public aware of Bonifacio’s illegal activity,” Eleazar said.

The Anti-Cybercrime Group said Cabrera was included in the complaint after their investigation showed that she allegedly offered 50 to 100 vaccination slots in Mandaluyong City.

ACG said the offer showed intent to sell and alleged involvement in the scheme.

Eleazar speculated that there may be other people involved in the scheme. He assured the public that the Criminal Investigation and Detection Group and the PNP Anti-Cybercrime Group will still look into the illegal scheme.

He reminded the public that vaccines offered by local government units are for free and that they do not have to shell out money for their inoculation against COVID-19.  —Joviland Rita/KBK/AOL, GMA News