Nograles to Filipinos: ‘Walang lamangan, walang gulangan’

MANILA, Philippines — “Walang lamangan, walang gulangan.”

This was the appeal of Inter-Agency Task Force (IATF) on Emerging Infectious Diseases spokesperson and Secretary to the Cabinet Karlo Nograles to all Filipinos on Monday when sought for a reaction on politicians taking COVID-19 tests despite being asymptomatic.

“May general rules naman po tayo diyan. Walang lamangan, walang gulangan. Yun naman po yung ating mensahe. Ito ay para sa lahat ng Pilipino,” Nograles said in a press briefing.

(We have general rules there. Don’t take advantage of others. That’s our message. This is for all Filipinos.

“Kaya nga po meron tayong mga general guidelines na pinapatupad para po pantay-pantay ang lahat,” he added.

(That’s why we have general guidelines being implemented so that it’s fair for everyone.)

At least 34 government officials, mostly asymptomatic, have reportedly demanded the Research Institute for Tropical Medicine (RITM) to prioritize their tests for COVID-19. This also reportedly happened even if the country has a limited supply of COVID-19 test kits.

According to the Department of Health (DOH) triage system, those who have a history of travel to countries with COVID-19, have had direct contact with existing confirmed cases in the country, and are showing symptoms of the disease will be prioritized for testing.

They are classified as persons under monitoring (PUM) or patients under investigation (PUI).

KGA

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