MANILA, Philippines — Since “everything is (in) a state of flux,” Senator Aquilino “Koko” Pimentel III believes even the so-called protocols “have changed over time.”
The senator said this amid a lawyer’s reported plan to file charges against him for allegedly violating home quarantine protocols set up by the government to contain the spread of the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19).
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“I will respond to their specific allegations in due time after we read them and compare (with) what (is in the) law,” Pimentel told reporters in a Viber message on Friday.
“We (are in) an entirely new environment where everything is (in) a state of flux. I believe even the so called protocols have changed over time. Everything will be clarified in due time,” he added.
On Tuesday, Pimentel accompanied his wife to the Makati Medical Center (MMC) for her scheduled Caesarean section delivery even though he was supposed to be under self-quarantine for having COVID-19 symptoms as early as March 14 and waiting for his test result.
While at the hospital, he claimed that he received a call from the Research Institute of Tropical Medicine (RITM) confirming that he is positive for the disease.
Once news broke that Pimentel contracted the disease, netizens were quick to call him out, saying he violated quarantine protocols when he accompanied his wife to the hospital despite manifesting symptoms.
MMC itself denounced what it called as “irresponsible and reckless” actions of the senator for breaching infection control protocols.
The institution also slammed Pimentel for violating the strict guidelines of social distancing, quarantine, and hygiene; thus, creating more manpoer and staffing problems in the hospital.
Pimentel has since apologized to hospital manageent, but maintained he did not intentionally violate quarantine protocols and stressed he did not mean to “do harm on anyone.”