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Manila city health officials participate in the COVID-19 vaccination simulation held at the Universidad de Manila on Jan. 19, 2021. George Calvelo, ABS-CBN News/File
MANILA - The Manila city government on Monday banned the sale of COVID-19 vaccines in the capital city as reports of alleged profiteering during the pandemic surfaced.
Under Manila's City Ordinance No. 8740, individuals who would sell COVID-19 vaccines will have to pay a P5,000 fine and may be imprisoned up to 6 months, while business permits would be revoked for firms that would sell these.
"Bawal magbenta ng bakuna. Bawal kumita sa bakuna whether organization, institution, tao or korporasyon. Bawal," Manila Mayor Isko Moreno Domagoso said in a statement.
(Selling COVID-19 vaccines is prohibited. No one is allowed to make a profit from these vaccines, whether they are an organization, an institution, a person or a corporation. It's not allowed.)
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"Bawal rin ikaltas sa sweldo ng tao iyong bakunang pwedeng ibigay ng private sector in Manila," he said.
(The private sector in Manila is also banned from deducting the cost of the vaccines they procured from an employee's salary.)
The sale, distribution or administration of COVID-19 vaccines for profit and for gain is not allowed while the country is still in a state of public health emergency, the mayor said.
"Those working in the City of Manila will be protected. Those living in the City of Manila will be protected," he said, noting that the city has been inoculating those who live and work in the locality.
The Department of the Interior and Local Government (DILG) earlier said it is looking into reports that several individuals have allegedly been selling COVID-19 vaccination slots in Mandaluyong and San Juan.
A concerned citizen in Mandaluyong City had reported receiving messages from a college friend supposedly offering COVID-19 vaccine slots for 12,000 to P15,000.
Mandaluyong City Mayor Menchie Abalos denied that such scheme is happening in the city. Abalos urged residents who may encounter such schemes to immediately report to their office.
The COVID-19 vaccines being administered in the country are currently regulated through an emergency use approval (EUA) issued by the Food and Drug Administration.
Vaccines with EUA can only be used and procured by the national government.
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