VSMMC to beef up security to stop fake Covid-19 test result sale. (File photo)
VSMMC to beef up security to stop fake Covid-19 test result sale. (File photo)

VSMMC to beef up security to stop fake Covid-19 test result sale

THE Vicente Sotto Memorial Medical Center (VSMMC) management is working to improve its security measures following the arrest of two individuals in Cebu City for allegedly peddling falsified reverse transcription-polymerase chain reaction (RT-PCR) test results bearing the name and logo of the government-run hospital based in Cebu City.

VSMMC information communications head Rey Cris Panugaling said the hospital is in discussions with its information technology department and the subnational laboratory (SNL) for the enhancement of the hospital’s security measures.

He said VSMMC will also contact certain government agencies and provide them the hospital’s email and contact number for the verification of Covid-19 test results. He did not identify the agencies.

“We shall also include in the results the contact numbers or hotline and details for verification,” Panugaling said.

These were some of the measures discussed during a meeting on Monday, March 22, 2021, said Panugaling.

Last Thursday, March 18, agents of the National Bureau of Investigation (NBI) 7 arrested Rogelio Nebres and Rakim Busara in an entrapment for allegedly selling fake RT-PCR test results in Cebu ports for P1,500 apiece.

Nebres and Busara are now facing charges of estafa through falsification in relation to Articles 171, 172, and 8 of the Revised Penal Code before the Cebu City Prosecutors’ Office.

“We issued a certificate to prove that the sample result is fictitious and a certificate of no record for the patient mentioned in the falsified swab results, which further certifies that the issued certificate is not valid or was not issued by the SNL,” Panugaling said.

He said the SNL is open and accessible to the public for verification.

The public, he said, may also reach them via the VSMMC Facebook page, email vsmmcmolecularlab@gmail.com, or landline at 032-263-5349.

The VSMMC also urged the public not to deal with people or entities selling fake Covid-19 test results as they could also be held liable. (WBS)

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