President Rodrigo Duterte. Screengrab from RTVM video.
MANILA, Philippines — President Rodrigo Duterte said it is “possible” to file murder charges against individuals who are fully aware that they are COVID-positive, yet still wandered around and gravely infected another person.
In a taped meeting aired Monday, Duterte’s chief legal counsel Salvador Panelo floated the idea of filing murder charges against these individuals, to which the President agreed.
“Kung alam niya po, pumunta siya sa isang lugar, alam niyang may sakit siya ng coronavirus at nakahawa siya at namatay, ay ‘yan po ay talagang sadyang pagpatay ‘yan. Papasok po ‘yan sa murder sapagkat intentional,” Panelo said.
(If the person knows he has coronavirus yet he still went out and managed to infect another individual which led to their death, that’s intentional killing. It is within the ambit of murder because it’s intentional.)
Duterte, in response, said reckless imprudence would still be the best complaint against these persons though he agreed that a murder case is “possible.”
“Iyong sabi mo murder, although medyo malayo masyado sa isip ng tao ‘yan, but it is possible. If he knows that he is sick with COVID-19 and he goes about nonchalant, papasyal-pasyal ka lang diyan, you are maybe, if it is intentional, malayo ‘yan pero it could be murder, sabi nga ni Sal,” Duterte said.
(What you said about murder, this is far from what the people think, but it is possible. If he knows that he is sick with COVID-19 and he goes about nonchalant, going around here and there, if it is intentional, that’s far but it could be murder as what Sal said.)
“At kung hindi, iyang reckless imprudence would really mas swak doon sa sitwasyon na ‘yon,” he added.
(But if now, reckless imprudence would be the most fit for the situation.)
Previously, Duterte said he was looking for a suitable law to jail quarantine violators. He also warned of jail time for persons who join mass gatherings.