- MITCH M. LIPA
Members of two families from Bacolod City, among them an anti-vax pastor, were discovered using fake vaccination cards, when they were processing their requirements for travel abroad, at a vaccination certificate helpdesk in a mall.
The first family involved the pastor, his wife, and children, who are supposed to travel to Hong Kong. The staff assigned at the helpdesk discovered first that the vaccine batch number is wrong and the vaccinator has a wrong family name. The team alerted the Bacolod Emergency Operations Center to verify the card, and it was later discovered as fake.
The second family is composed of three members, and those manning the VaxCert helpdesk also discovered them using fake vaccination cards since the vaccine batch number cannot be found in the list and with unknown vaccinators.
EOC executive director Em Ang said Feb. 17 that, based on their investigation, the pastor lives in Barangay Mandalagan. He is a senior preacher of the Baptist church, and Ang said they are anti-vaxxers.
She added that the pastor and his family acquired his fake vaccination card for P700, through a Facebook transaction.
The second family is from Barangay Singcang-Airport, and also admitted that they do not believe in the anti-COVID vaccines. They said they acquired their bogus vaccination cards for P1,000 each from a nurse.
Ang said the two families were brought to the police station and it will be up to the police on what charges will be filed against them.
She added that the pastor begged not to make the incident into a big issue, and later on allowed himself and his family to get their first dose of the Moderna vaccine.
But Ang said the case will continue even if they allowed themselves to be vaccinated, and they cannot travel overseas since they have yet to complete their inoculation. — MML
