DILG: Pasay City councilor in COVID testing rant out of bounds, deserves sanction

MANILA, Philippines — For Interior Secretary Eduardo Año, the “ranting” of a Pasay City councilor before frontliners who were testing City Hall employees for the new coronavirus disease (COVID-19) was “excessive” and deserves a sanction.

In an interview on ABS-CBN News’ Teleradyo on Monday, Año said he believes that the incident occurred due to miscommunication and “probably the wrong choice” of the city’s session hall as venue for the rapid testing conducted on May 19.

“Excessive ‘yung ranting niya kasi ilang beses siyang nagmura doon (His ranting is excessive because he cursed many times),” Año said, referring to Pasay City Councilor Arnel Moti Arceo who was seen in a viral video swearing and shouting when he saw the session hall being used as an area for COVID-19 testing of city hall employees.

The Interior Chief, however, said he will let Pasay City Mayor Emi Calixto-Rubiano handle the matter for now.

“Syempre pinakamaganda naman dyan, magkaroon sila ng settlement. Pero sa nakikita ko, masyadong excessive ‘yung pagmumura ni city councilor kaya dapat meron din tayong mailagay na sanction dito,” he said.

(A settlement is the best that could be done. But based on what I saw, the swearing of the city councilor was excessive so I think he should be sanctioned.)

Arceo later apologized for the incident but said he was just upset that he and other councilors had not been informed that the rapid testing would be done at the City Hall, potentially putting more people at risk.

“It is true that I cursed. But I just want to clarify that I did not curse anyone. This was an outburst of emotion. If my cursing was hard to listen to, that was my mistake. I shouted, yes, but what I felt because of what they were doing was a mix of shock, anger and fear,” Arceo said.

GSG