THE woman who said she exposed the “vaccination slot for sale” scheme yesterday said she was surprised that the PNP charged her for involvement in the illegal activity.
Nina Ellaine Dizon-Cabrera, chief executive officer of a cosmetics firm, said no one from the PNP even asked her about the scam.
“Nobody ever reached out to me which is why I was really surprised when I saw the article yesterday (Wednesday). Nobody asked me questions, nobody asked me anything about it.
I was only in touch with San Juan LGU (local government unit) upon posting on May 21 and that was it,” Cabrera said in an interview with ANC.
The PNP has not reacted to Cabrera’s statements.
“All of a sudden I was caught in the middle. I was dragged into the case, saying I had the intent to sell, but really, I was one who exposed it,” Cabrera also said.
The PNP on Wednesday announced it has charged three persons behind the sale of vaccination slots in Mandaluyong City, and identified them as Cyle Cedric Soriano Bonifacio, Melvin Polo Gutierrez, and Cabrera.
It said the three were charged before the before the city prosecutors’ office last Monday with estafa and violations of the Anti-Red Tape Law of 2007 and Cybercrime Prevention Act of 2012
It said Bonifacio offered the vaccine slots to his friends while Gutierrez acted as facilitator as he has connections in Mandaluyong City where he works as a fire and barangay volunteer.
Cabrera, the PNP said, was charged after the Anti-Cybercrime Group said she “offered 50 to 100 vaccination slots” in Mandaluyong City. The offer, it said, “showed intent to sell and alleged involvement in the illegal activity.”
The PNP ACG apparently concluded that Cabrera was selling vaccination slots based on a text conversation she had with the supposed seller, which she posted on her social media account.
Late Wednesday after learning she was among those charged, Cabrera posted on her Twitter account.
“Wait. Bat ako ung nagbenta bigla? Ako nga yung binentahan at ako ang nag-post? Hold on (Wait. All of a sudden I became the seller? It was actually being sold to me and I was the one who posted it. Hold on),” she said.
Cabrera, in the TV interview, said she was the one who alerted authorities about the illegal activity.
She also said all she did was ask the vaccine slot seller where the vaccines will be sourced, and posted the conversation on her social media account upon learning it would be from the local government unit.
She said wanted to buy vaccines for her employees, that was why she inquired about it.
“I was really looking to buy vaccines for my employees, so I saw an Instagram story post where it said, ‘vaccines for sale’ so I proceeded to reply to the story, that’s where the conversation began,” she said.
She said when she learned the scheme was illegal, she posted it on social media.
Cabrera also said she has discussed the matter with her lawyer. She said she has not yet received any notice from the Mandaluyong City Prosecutor’s Office.
“Definitely, I will fight these charges because these are definitely false,” she said, adding that filing of counter charges against the PNP remains “an option we are considering right now.”
The scam was discovered last month a then-unidentified netizen posted on Twitter a screenshot of a supposed conversation between two persons about a transaction for COVID-19 vaccines in exchange for cash.
The vaccines and vaccines slots were reportedly being sold in Mandaluyong and San Juan cities for P8,000 to P12,000, depending on the vaccine brand.
A similar scheme was reported also last month in Parañaque City.
