QC Rep to NBI, PNP: Step up drive against fake Covid test kits

Quezon City Rep. Precious Hipolito Castelo called on the National Bureau of Investigation (NBI) and the Philippine National Police (PNP) to step up their efforts against online sellers of fake Covid-19-related products.

  

“These online sellers have no accountability, because they are not registered with the concerned agencies like the Department of Trade and Industry and the Bureau of Internal Revenue. So it should not be hard for the NBI and the PNP and even local government units to stop their trade, apprehend them and file charges against them,” said Castelo.

She said aside from unapproved Covid-19 test kits, dubious sellers also offer poor-quality alcohol, facemasks and personal protective equipment (PPE).

Castelo also asked law enforcers to have bogus sellers blacklisted on the Internet and their posts and advertisements taken down.

 

“They cannot pursue their illegal activities if they cannot access the Internet, which ironically has become an enabler of their scams,” she stressed.

 

Castelo also advised the public not to buy rapid Covid-19 test kits from unreliable sources.

“These should be purchased from a licensed hospital or drugstore through a doctor’s prescription. A test should be administered and interpreted by a trained health professional.”

 

She said the national government is partly to blame for the flourishing trade in bogus and questionable Covid-19 products since it has failed to increase testing capacity and build or accredit enough laboratories, as well as supply its healthcare workers with sufficient PPEs.

 

Castelo also said some personnel in certain Quezon City hospitals obtained test kits from the black market and tested themselves to get instant results, since the more reliable swab examination still takes days to finish despite repeated promises by officials of a faster process.