Acting Health Secretary Janette Garin. Photo from congress.gov.ph
MANILA, Philippines—A former military chief turned lawmaker advised acting Health Secretary Janette Garin to monitor her temperature for 21 days for breaking security protocol and visiting the Philippine peacekeepers under quarantine for possible signs of Ebola.
“To me the only mindset that everyone should have is the strict implementation of protocol…Going there without protective gears was a clear violation of protocol,” Muntinlupa Representative Rodolfo Biazon said in a press conference on Tuesday.
“My statement is just diplomatic, that she should watch her temperature for 21 days,” he added.
Biazon made the statement after Garin and military chief General Pio Catapang, without wearing protective gear, visited the peacekeepers who are quarantined on Caballo Island after coming from Ebola-stricken Liberia.
“I am advising her to be a little bit more careful next time…The visit to Caballo (Island) is a careless misjudgment. Not only because of the possibility of contracting the disease, but also because of what it is projecting to the people,” he said.
Asked what he would do if he comes face to face with the Garin, Biazon said: “Definitely, I will not touch her.”