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The Quezon City police yesterday raided a print shop in the village of Pasong Putik for allegedly selling fake COVID-19 rapid test results.
The police arrested two female employees and seized the shop’s printers and computers, which will be used as evidence. The owner, who was not at the shop when the raid took place, was not arrested.
The shop’s nefarious activities became known after a customer named Shin yesterday posted photos of its employees as they allegedly edit fake COVID-19 test results. She told news television show 24 Oras that she was at the shop to have some documents printed but noticed that the process was taking too long, prompting her to investigate.
“I looked at what the woman was editing on her computer and the first thing I saw in all caps was negative, and then I saw COVID, I saw them changing the name in the result. When the printed document came out, I saw that the name was different from the original copy,” she said in Filipino.
She added that the incident had infuriated her, and because she knew it was wrong, she posted about it on social media to alert the authorities. A doctor from a private hospital saw Shin’s post and allegedly spotted her name and signature being printed on the bogus test results, which led the physician to report the incident to the Quezon City police.
The arrested employees allegedly confessed to the authorities that they sold the test certificates for a mere PHP25 (less than US$1), and a template allowed them to change the name and age of the client in the document before printing.
They will be facing multiple charges, including violating Article 171 of the Revised Penal Code or Falsification by Public Officer, Employee, or Notary; Article 172 or Falsification by Private Individuals and Use of Falsified Documents; as well as for violating the Mandatory Reporting of Notifiable Diseases and Health Events of Public Health Concern Act.
The owner of the shop, who allegedly failed to secure a business permit, is currently being investigated.
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