Philippine National Police (PNP) Chief, Gen. Guillermo Eleazar, ordered the Criminal Investigation and Detection Group (CIDG) to drop the complaint against Nina Ellaine Dizon-Cabrera, the whistleblower in the alleged “vaccination slot for sale” scheme.
Cabrera, who was among those charged over the illegal activity early this week, slammed the PNP’s move, saying she merely wanted to expose the scam that reportedly happened in Mandaluyong City.
“After a thorough review of the cases that were filed against those involved in the vaccine slot for sale, our legal team came up with the conclusion that Ms. Nina Ellaine Dizon-Cabrera should not have been included in the criminal complaint based on the appreciation of the pieces of evidence on hand,” Eleazar said in a statement sent to reporters on Saturday.
The cases against Cyle Cedric Bonifacio and Melvin Gutierrez, the other suspects, stand.
They were charged on June 7 with estafa under Article 315 of the Revised Penal Code, violation of Section 21-H (fixing and/or collusion with fixers) of Republic Act (RA) 11032 or the Anti-Red Tape Law of 2007, and Section 6 of RA 10175 or the Cybercrime Prevention Act of 2012.
“I already instructed the CIDG to withdraw the cases filed against her before the Mandaluyong City Prosecutor’s Office in the soonest possible time,” Eleazar said.
He also ordered the relief of Lt. Col. Arnold Moleta as chief of the CIDG Eastern Metro Manila District Field Unit for the lapse in judgment and by way of command responsibility in the conduct of investigation.
“Ang mali ay mali at hindi dapat pinaninindigan. Sa halip, ito ay itinatama upang hindi na maulit, at upang kapulutan din ng aral para maging maayos ang pagsisilbi sa taumbayan. Kagaya ng ipinangako ko, mananagot ang dapat managot kung may pagkukulang o pagkakamali na nangyari dito (A mistake is a mistake that should not be condoned. It should be corrected so there would be no repeat and lessons would be learned to serve the people properly. As I promised, the persons responsible should be held accountable),” he said. “Let this serve as a reminder to all our personnel that if you are assigned to do a task, always make sure that you do your best, and do it right.“
Despite the issue, Eleazar said they remain determined to run after those who try to make money out of the national vaccination program.
“Patuloy kaming nakatutok sa mga kasong katulad na ito at nananawagan kami ng patuloy din na tulong upang hindi mabigyan ng oportunidad ang mga taong nagsasamantala, lalo na ngayong panahon ng pandemya (We will pursue cases like this and we ask for continued assistance so as not to give any opportunity to exploiters, especially in this time of pandemic),” he said.
Source: Philippines News Agency
