Circulating ‘vaccination exemption cards’ are fake, according to the Department of the Interior and Local Government
Claim: ‘Vaccination exemption cards’ are being issued under Republic Act 11525 or the Covid-19 Vaccination Program
Rating: FALSE
Images of fake “vaccination exemption cards” are circulating on social media, giving the wrong impression that such cards can be used to enter establishments amid government restrictions on the movement of unvaccinated persons.
No such cards have been officially issued or authorized, the Department of the Interior and Local Government said on Jan. 18, 2022.
“The public is warned that there is no such thing as a ‘vaccination exemption card.’ This is not authorized, issued, nor recognized by the government. In other words, these are fake,” Interior Undersecretary Jonathan Malaya said in a statement.
The interior department said the fake cards were being circulated in social media groups.
PressOne.PH found one such public group, “JUAN DAKILA NCR AND NEARBY CITIES,” which describes itself as composed of “Patriotic Filipinos against Mandatory Vaccination and Passport, Pro Choice and Pro-Life.”
Images of the fake cards were shared to the group by user Joy D Marie, who seemed to be exhorting fellow members to resist government restrictions. “We are ready, lets fight for our right. ???????? We stand united, United we stand.” (sic)
Her post has been shared more than 100 times as of posting time. The post has also garnered more than 370 comments.
Some of the commenters asked the author of the post if the cards were legitimate, but got no answers. In one reply to a commenter, the author posted an image of a different, but also fake, “vaccination exemption card” that bore a QR code linked to the text of Republic Act 11525 on the Official Gazette website.
But while the law, titled “An Act Establishing the Coronavirus Disease 2019 (Covid-19) Vaccination Program Expediting the Vaccine Procurement and Administration Process, Providing Funds Therefor, and for Other Purposes,” provides for the issuance of free Covid-19 vaccination cards, there is no provision on the issuance of “vaccination exemption cards.”
Malaya urged the public to report individuals distributing fake “vaccination exemption cards.”
“Malaking kalokohan ito. Hinding-hindi mag-iisyu ng exemption ang pamahalaan kanino man (maliban na lang for medical reasons) dahil ang gusto nga natin ay mabakunahan na ang lahat bilang proteksyon laban sa iba’t-ibang Covid-19 variants,” he said.
(This is utter foolishness. The government will never issue exemptions to anyone (except for medical reasons), because we want everyone to be vaccinated, as protection against the different Covid-19 variants.)
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