MMDA chief vows charges vs. persons behind alleged vaccine-for-slot ops

Metro Manila Development Authority (MMDA) chairman Benhur Abalos Jr. on Wednesday vowed that they will pursue charges against persons who are behind the alleged sale of COVID-19 vaccine slots.

“This is the one thing that I will promise you, I will promise that these persons will going to be charged and they will go to jail. We are very serious about this,” Abalos said in an ANC interview.

Abalos said corruption in the vaccine scheduling could be possible, but these individuals will have to go through rigid processes to successfully sell these slots.

“If you’re going to sell your slot, you will falsify the name, you will pretend to be that person living in that address etc, for me that’s the only way to go with this process,” he said.

“Kapag talagang ginawa mo ito, gusto mo gawin ito. Marami ka munang kaso na pupuntahan pero medyo mahirap nga gawin ito. On the other hand, ang daming pwedeng manloko. As of now, we don’t know, could this be a fraudulent claim or is there a syndicate operating here?” he asked.

(If you really want to do this, you have to go through a lot of processes. On the other hand, a lot of people can deceive the public. As of now, we don’t know yet if this is a fraudulent claim or if there is a syndicate operating here.)

So far, Abalos said law enforcers have already identified a private individual behind the vaccine slot-for-sale scheme.

Last Monday, Philippine National Police (PNP) spokesperson Police Brigadier General Ronaldo Olay said the police have already identified some personalities linked to the alleged sale of COVID-19 vaccination slots in several Metro Manila cities.

An investigation is currently being conducted by the Criminal Investigation and Detection Group (CIDG).

Last week, PNP chief Police General Guillermo Eleazar tasked the CIDG to lead the investigation on the alleged illicit sale of vaccines after screenshots of the supposed "under the table" trade went viral on social media.

The said messages indicated that the vaccination slots in some cities could be obtained for P8,000 to P12,000.

Mandaluyong and San Juan cities were mentioned in the conversation thread.

Abalos’ wife, Mandaluyong Mayor Menchie Abalos and San Juan City Mayor Francis Zamora labeled the said message as a scam, reiterating that the COVID-19 shots are free.—AOL, GMA News