Baguio City to charge ‘fake vaccination card’ users

Baguio City, Philippines – The city government of Baguio is warning the public against the use of fake vaccination cards as passports in their official transactions in the city, including travelers who want to enter the city.

The Public Information Office of Baguio on Wednesday, July 21, 2021, reports that violators will be charged accordingly. Said action was undertaken, following the online posting of individuals offering to produce and sell vaccination cards.

Recently, a resolution was crafted by the National Inter-agency Task Force which eased the movement of vaccinated individuals doing interzonal travels, allowing the use of vaccination cards as proof.

With this new directive, Mayor Benjamin Magalong said that "people might jump at this opportunity to fake their vaccine passports and enter the city without undergoing testing, thereby putting everybody else at risk."

The city’s triage, he said, has the capability to figure out the authenticity of vaccination cards through double-checking the card’s QR codes and validating the hotline numbers registered in the card.

If unable to determine the authenticity of the card through the said process, cardholders shall be tested, and if they refuse to undergo the testing, they will be dealt with accordingly.

As recalled, Presidential Spokesperson Harry Roque has stated that the production of forged vaccination cards is considered as falsification of public documents.

Under Article 171 in relation to Article 172 of the Revised Penal Code, the crime of falsification of document’s penalty is imprisonment of “prision correccional” in its medium and maximum periods and a fine of not more than P5, 000.

It further states that imprisonment is imposed for a period that ranges from two years, four months, and one day to six years.

Utilization of fake vaccination cards is also punishable under article 174 - False Medical Certificates, false certification of merits or service, etc., and article 175 or the use of false certificates.

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