POLICE have filed criminal charges against two persons allegedly involved in the illegal sale of vaccination slots, Philippine National Police (PNP) Chief Guillermo Eleazar said Wednesday, June 9, 2021.
Cyle Cedric Soriano Bonifacio, formerly identified as Kyle Bonifacio, and Melvin Polo Gutierrez, a fire and barangay volunteer in Mandaluyong City, were charged with estafa, and violation of the Anti-Red Tape Law of 2007 and Cybercrime Prevention Act of 2012.
Bonifacio surrendered to the Mandaluyong mayor on May 26, 2021, shortly after reports about vaccination slots for sale surfaced.
He initially denied involvement in the illegal activity but Eleazar said Bonifacio later tagged Gutierrez as the one who helped him get a vaccination slot in Mandaluyong City.
“Ang pahayag pa ni Bonifacio, isang beses lang niya nagawa ang mamagitan para sa pagkuha ng vaccination slot at ang P12,000 na binigay sa kanya, through online bank transfer, ay reward daw,” said Eleazar.
“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,” he added.
Eleazar said an investigation is still being conducted by the Criminal Investigation and Detection Group and the Anti-Cybercrime Group to identify other people who might be involved in the illegal activity.
The vaccine against coronavirus disease 2019 (Covid-19) is free.
However, the government is implementing a prioritization framework to ensure that those who are most vulnerable to severe Covid-19 are protected first. (Third Anne Peralta-Malonzo / SunStar Philippines)