PNP chief orders intensified drive vs selling of fake entry permits, pandemic documents

Airline ground staff (L) wearing protective gear work at the counter at the airport in Manila on August 4, 2020.
AFP/Ted Aljibe

MANILA, Philippines — Police Gen. Guillermo Eleazar, Philippine National Police chief, on Friday said he ordered the Anti-Cybercrime Group to step up its campaign against the selling of fake entry permits to foreigners and other falsified documents related to the country's pandemic response. 

"I have instructed our [ACG] to further intensify its focus and operations against those selling fake entry permits and other illegal activities related to COVID-19 including the sale of fake RT-PCR results, vaccination cards and others," Eleazar said in a statement written in Filipino.

"We will make sure that these people are held accountable because it is unacceptable that they are still able to take advantage despite the trials we face due to the pandemic." 

The statement comes a day after the Bureau of Immigration warned the public against scammers who offer fake entry permits to foreign nationals who wish to enter the country, as it stressed current travel restrictions enforced in the country.

BI said it received a complaint against a social media user that offered entry permits, stressing that the service is not offered by the agency. 

PNP also said it was monitoring the sale of falsified vaccination cards and RT-PCR tests. Both documents allow their holders more mobility within the country. 

A number of people have already been arrested or charged in connection with the selling of fake RT-PCR results, police noted. 

Eleazar further urged the public to report to authorities and lodge formal complaints if they were victimized by the illegal practice.

“We also advise Filipinos to be careful and not to believe these scammers because you are not only putting yourselves in jeopardy but also our countrymen amid the rise of COVID cases in our country," the PNP chief said. — with a report from Franco Luna 

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