BOQ, DOH prepare complaint against quarantine violator

MANILA, Philippines — The government has already prepared a complaint against the Filipina who skipped the required quarantine after arriving from the United States, the Bureau of Quarantine (BOQ) said Friday.

BOQ Director Roberto Salvador Jr. said they are able to trace who among the arriving travelers skipped the mandatory quarantine.

“Lahat ng nagbebreak ng protocol, naaidentiify natin, kasi hindi po natutuloy sa hotel, natetrace po natin ‘yun at naibabalik po sa quarantine or na-e-endorse sa LGU (local government unit),” Salvador said in a press briefing during the transfer of over 100 COVID-19 positive returning Filipinos to the Manila COVID-19 Field Hospital.

(All of those who break the protocols are being identified. We are able to trace them because they did not proceed to the hotel.)

“May mga nakasuhan na po tayo at ‘yung particular na case na recently nangyari, nakaready na po ang complaint natin. Kami po ang complainant, BOQ at DOH [Department of Health], para maging example na hindi dapat i-violate ang quarantine laws dahil malaki ang epekto nito sa community,” he added.

(We have filed complaints and we have already prepared the complaint against the traveler involved in the recent case of violation. The BOQ and DOH are the complainants. We do this so it will be an example that quarantine law should not be violated because it has a huge effect on the community.)

Meanwhile, Health Secretary Francisco Duque, citing the Republic Act No. 11332 or the Mandatory Reporting of Notifiable Diseases and Health Events of Public Health Concern Act, stressed that “anybody who will be found guilty of breaching ang violating these rules and regulations will be made to account to the full extent of the law.”

“They can be charged, indicted for criminal as well as administrative cases. So warning lang po ayaw na po natin gawin ito pero period of public health emergency po ang Pilipinas hindi po pwedeng balewalain natin ang mga batas natin,” he said in the same briefing.

(They can be charged, indicted for criminal and administrative cases. So this is just a warning. We don’t want to do this but we are in the period of a public health emergency. We cannot overlook the law.)

The Department of Tourism earlier confirmed that a Filipina who returned from the US and “boasted of having connections” skipped being quarantined in a hotel and instead went to a party in Makati City.

Interior Secretary Eduardo Año said the woman arrived in the Philippines on December 22 from Los Angeles, California. He said she may have infected around 15 people.

JPV