Mandaluyong City Mayor Menchie Abalos and Metropolitan Manila Development Authority (MMDA) Chairman Benhur Abalos presented on Wednesday the suspect in the alleged "bakuna for sale" scheme who voluntarily surrendered to them.
The suspect, identified as Kyle Bonifacio, turned himself in after his father, a barangay kagawad, called Mayor Abalos to surrender his own son.
"Totoo po, tumawag sa akin ang kanyang tatay at sinabi na ang anak nya kasi I thought all the while nung nasa NBI (National Bureau of Investigation) kami, hindi ko talaga alam na taga-Mandaluyong sya. Pero tumawag sa akin yung tatay nung gabi sabi ko "Anak mo pala, hindi ko alam." (It's true that his father called me last night and told me that his son was the suspect because all the while, I never thought that the suspect is living in Mandaluyong. But his father called me up last night and I told him "It was your son. I didn't know)." Mayor Abalos said during the presentation of Bonifacio to the media at the Mandaluyong City Hall.
"Actually, hindi din nya alam yung ginagawa nung anak nya kung hindi pa sya napuntahan ng ating kapulisan. Kaya't voluntary nyang sinurrender sa akin ngayon ang kanyang anak (Actually, he himself didn't know what his son was doing until the police came to see him. That's why he voluntarily surrendered his son to me)." she added.
During the media presentation, the young Bonifacio maintained that he is innocent and clarified that he had no contact to anyone within the local government of any city.
"Wala po akong connection sa LGU dahil isa lang po akong batang estudyante (I have no connection with the LGU because I am just a student)," he said.
He also refused to answer questions from the media, invoking his right to remain silent.
Mayor Abalos and Chairman Abalos sought the help of the NBI on Monday to investigate the reported selling of vaccines and vaccine slots in the city as well as in San Juan.
READ MORE: https://mb.com.ph/2021/05/25/mandaluyong-working-with-nbi-to-investigate-vaccine-slot-for-a-fee-scheme/
The Abalos couple thanked all the law enforcement agencies that helped them catch Bonifacio and urged the public to refrain from committing such illegal acts.
"Sa mga nanonood po ngayon, binabalaan ko kayo na bawal po ang pagbebenta nang slot at ng bakuna. Kayo'y makukulong. At dun naman po sa may gustong magpabakuna at sumingit at magbabayad, pati kayo po ay makukulong (To those who are watching, I'm warning you. The sale of vaccines and vaccine slots are prohibited. You can be arrested. And to those who want to be vaccinated and are willing to pay or jump the line, you will also be arrested)." Chairman Abalos said
Bonifacio will be turned over to the NBI and the Philippine National Police (PNP) for further investigation.