Bottled water vendor Ariel Cadion Pulot, 29, said he was forced to photocopy a lost Qurantine Pass and sell the fake copies to Sto. Nino devotees to be able to buy medicines for his sick children. With Pulot in jail, his wife fears they will all go hungry.
CEBU CITY, Philippines — A bottled water peddler from Barangay Sambag II was caught selling fake quarantine passes just a few meters away from the Basilica Minore del Sto. Niño de Cebu.
Ariel Cadion Pulot, 29 years old of General Santos City who is now living in Barangay Sambag II, was caught by the City Environment Sanitation Enforcement Team (CESET) past 9 a.m. on Saturday, January 9, 2021, along Plaridel Street here.
According to the Waterfronr Police Station, Pulot was seen selling photocopied quarantine passes outside the vicinity of the Basilica Minore del Sto. Niño.
He was selling the passes to non-Cebu City residents who could not enter the Basilica and its vicinity due to the newly imposed prohibitions against non-residents from entering the church premises.
Pulot was caught red-handed as people flocked to him to buy the quarantine passes.
He claims that he only sold two fake passes for an earning of P40.
Police says he will be facing charges for Falsification of Public Documents and a penalty of P3,000.
“Nabuhat ra to nako kay nasakit akong duha ka anak. Wala koy ikapalit ug tambal. Nagmahay gyod ko,” said Pulot in an interview.
Pulot said that he found the lost quarantine pass around the Basilica and decided to photocopy it to sell to churchgoers who lacked the quarantine pass.
He claimed he was only selling the passes today and was caught after two hours of selling the passes.
Thirteen other photocopies were seized from him.
Pulot’s wife, Michelle, is appealing to Mayor Edgardo Labella to help her family amid this crisis.
With her husband in jail, her family will go hungry, she said.
“Hangyo lang nako ni Mayor Labella nga pasayloon akong bana. Nasakit akong mga anak. Unsaon nalang among kaunon?” said a teary-eyed Michelle.
Pulot is currently being detained at the Waterfront Police Station. /rcg