Raps filed vs five so far over false info on COVID-19 vaccination, Palace warns
MANILA, Philippines — Authorities have so far filed complaints against five people for allegedly spreading false information amid the COVID-19 pandemic, presidential spokesperson Harry Roque said Monday.
Citing information from the police’s Directorate for Investigation and Detective Management, Roque said in Filipino that to date, "five cases against five people have been filed" for supposedly spreading false information. The government last week blamed rumors and false information for crowding that overwhelmed some vaccination centers in Metro Manila.
Roque said complaints have so far been filed for the following:
- Article 154 of the Revised Penal Code, or unlawful use of means of publication and unlawful utterances in relation to the Bayanihan to Heal as One Act
- Section 6 of the Cybercrime Prevention Act of 2012
- Presidential Decree 90 or unlawful rumor-mongering and spreading false information in relation to the Cybercrime Prevention Act
It is unclear whether these raps are recent since the Bayanihan to Heal as One Act has already expired.
Roque, in Filipino, warned those who are spreading false information: "You can rest assured that you will be found and that you will be charged and you will be jailed."
Flocking to vaccination sites
The Metropolitan Manila Development Authority last week asked the National Bureau of Investigation to run after people behind rumors that only those who have been vaccinated will receive cash aid during the lockdown period.
This was after vaccination sites in Manila, Las Piñas and other areas were swarmed by people who began lining up for vaccines in the early morning of August 5, a day before Metro Manila reverted to the strict Enhanced Community Quarantine.
Others who flocked to vaccination sites said they heard rumors that unvaccinated people will not be allowed to leave their homes.
The government swiftly denied the rumors and stressed that vaccination status will not affect receiving cash aid, nor will they be prohibited from leaving their residence amid the lockdown.
In a taped address on July 28, President Rodrigo Duterte warned those who refuse to be vaccinated that they will not be allowed to go out of their homes. He said in Filipino: “If you go out of your houses, I will tell the police to bring you back. You’ll be escorted back to your houses because you are a walking spreader."
Although Duterte's words are often treated as policy, the Department of Health and other agencies played down the president's threat, which was feared to lead to discrimination against the unvaccinated.
The Inter-Agency Task Force for the Management of Emerging Infectious Diseases explained that since many people in Metro Manila have yet to be vaccinated, there will no distinctions between Authorized Persons outside of Residence (APOR) who have been vaccinated and have yet to receive the doses.
Roque on Monday however distanced Duterte’s own pronouncements from people crowding to the vaccination centers, noting that a week had passed between the president’s taped address and the flocking to vaccination sites.
He also claimed that the president only meant those under A2 and A3 priority vaccination categories — senior citizens and those with comorbidities — refusing to receive jabs against the coronavirus.
Justice Secretary Menardo Guevarra for his part said he will ask the IATF to ramp up its communication efforts to address the rumors and false information. — Kristine Joy Patag
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