MANILA, Philippines – Senator Francis Tolentino has justified his controversial COVID-19 test, saying he suffered colds and dry cough while he was under self-quarantine.
In a Facebook post, Tolentino apologized for having himself tested but he clarified that his test did not come from the Department of Health. He also explained that his cough medications were not enough to remove the dry cough.
He tested negative for the latest coronavirus strain.
“My negative result was not a DOH test. And I apologize if I undertook the same as I was likewise exposed to the persons my colleagues got in contact with during our hearings,” the Senator said on Sunday night.
“Further my colds and dry cough persisted during my self-quarantine, thus I took a test after my cough medication appeared insufficient after 4 days,” he added.
Tolentino recently drew flak for posting on social media photos of him being tested despite public calls to launch mass testing and to prioritize frontline workers and those living in areas where COVID-19 local transmission was reported.
A recent Philippine Daily Inquirer report said that government officials are crowding out patients for the COVID-19 tests, with at least 34 officials asking DOH’s Research Institute for Tropical Medicine (RITM) to test them and their relatives.
Aside from Tolentino, Senators Richard Gordon Grace Poe, Pia Cayetano, Supreme Court Chief Justice Diosdado Peralta, Philippine National Police chief Archie Gamboa, and former first lady Imelda Marcos appeared on a list obtained by the Inquirer.
So far, Senator Juan Miguel Zubiri remains the only senator who tested positive for COVID-19.
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Tolentino said that his test was also for the sake of people whom he had close contact with so that they would know if they would conduct self-quarantine measures.
“If I came out positive will also post so the people who came near me would know the result whether positive or negative, my apologies to those offended,” he explained.
As of Monday, the whole of Luzon is still under an enhanced community quarantine as COVID-19 cases rise, meaning that only frontline service workers like healthcare workers and service crew members are allowed to go to work.
The Department of Health said that there are 462 confirmed cases in the Philippines, 33 of which have already died while at least 18 have recovered.
READ: Luzon now under ‘enhanced community quarantine’ – Palace
READ: BREAKING: DOH: 462 people now infected with COVID-19 in PH
The COVID-19 is a respiratory disease caused by the novel coronavirus that first emerged in China’s city of Wuhan in Hubei province in late 2019.
The International Committee on Taxonomy of Viruses named the novel coronavirus as SARS-CoV-2.
Coronavirus is a family of viruses, whose surfaces have a crown-like appearance. The viruses are named for the spikes on their surfaces. Worldwide, over 334,000 COVID-19 cases have been recorded, while 14,608 patients have died. On the other hand, 96,243 patients have recovered.