Authorities arrested a vegetable vendor in Cebu City for reproducing Community Quarantine (ECQ) pass, Tuesday.
The woman will face charges for violating Article 172 of the revised penal code concerning Cebu City executive order 65, which is the unauthorized reproduction of the ECQ pass and falsification of documents.
Cebu Governor Gwendolyn Garcia placed Cebu under enhanced community quarantine beginning Friday, March 27, to prevent the spread of the pandemic in the province.
Waterfront police station arrested Maria Rowena Sarsalejo, 38 years old, and a resident of Barangay Santo Niño. Authorities recovered four copies of ECQ pass from the suspect.
Police Executive Master Sergent Michael Ventulan of the Waterfront police said they would be filing the case against Sarsalejo on Tuesday morning, March 31.
Vegetable vendor arrested for reproducing quarantine pass in Cebu
A security guard outside Cebu City Hall heard the suspect say “maayo ning daghan” (it is better to have more of this), which led to her arrest at 5:30 pm Monday.
The suspect’s move raised suspicion that she was going to sell the ECQ passes. However, she defended she only wanter to have copies in case she lost or damage the original one. She said she had no intention of selling the passes.
“Dili nako ni ibaligya kay ako man ning control number. Ang ako ani, aron unta ug mawagtang ang usa, naay ikapuli,” she said.
(I was not planning to sell this since this control number belongs to me. I only had this copied so that in case I lose one, I still have another copy.)
Sasalejo is a vegetable vendor along F. Gonzales Street. She said her actions did not mean any harm, and she asked for forgiveness.