Harsher penalties may be needed

Not too long ago we wrote an editorial about how fake documents about vaccine security can proliferate like the virus, thanks to dishonest individuals who need to make a quick buck and people who feel entitled enough not to be bothered to actually go and get tested.

This is no longer just a fear; six tourists with falsified negative RT-PCR (Reverse Transcription Polymerase Chain Reaction) test results tried to enter the resort island of Boracay last January 21.

It gets worse, not only did they try to use the fake documents to try and fool people, three of the six tourists, who were allegedly from Metro Manila, actually tested positive for COVID-19.

So if they had been able to get through --although they didn’t, thanks to the vigilance of the Malay police-- it is likely they would have posed danger to what is now considered a virus-free tourist bubble.

Under Republic Act 11332 or the Law on Reporting of Communicable Diseases, anyone found guilty of "tampering of records or intentionally providing misinformation" shall be fined an amount between P20,000 to 50,000, or get a jail term of one to six months.

However, it seems the law doesn’t seem to be putting anyone off of fielding a fake result. So why not increase the fine even more or add more jail time?

More often than not, it takes a twisted mind to try and pull off something as dastardly as using a fake negative result.

Someone who willfully and willingly uses a fake negative result clearly doesn’t care about others. They only think of themselves, most likely about how inconvenient or undignified it may be to have to submit themselves to testing.

To that extent they are willing to put not just individuals but in some cases an entire community in danger of possibly getting infected, just so they can have a little time to relax.

So if these people think the price of getting caught is not worth considering at all, or just mere peanuts to them, maybe we should up the ante to make them change their minds.