‘Susceptible to overreach’: House-to-house search for COVID-19 patients alarms CHR
MANILA, Philippines — The Commission on Human Rights cautioned the government Wednesday against utilizing tough approaches to prevent wider transmission of the coronavirus that are seen to negatively impact people’s basic human rights.
The statement came after Interior Secretary Eduardo Año said police will carry out house-to-house searches to find COVID-19 patients under home quarantine and transfer them to isolation facilities managed by the government amid the increasing infection numbers. He also urged the public to report cases in their communities.
Lawyer Jacqueline De Guia, CHR spokesperson, said this is “susceptible to overreach” in terms of guaranteeing people’s right to privacy and right to be secure in their homes.
While Republic Act 11332 or the Mandatory Reporting of Notifiable Diseases and Health Events of Public Health Concern Act requires reporting of communicable disease to health authorities, it guarantees the right to privacy and provides that data collected must solely be used for public health concerns only.
“The use of personal information as part of contact tracing efforts should only be done in accordance with the Data Privacy Act, while clear implementing rules and regulation on contact tracing efforts of the government must be in place to ensure that the release of private data to contact tracers is done for public health reasons only,” De Guia said.
The CHR official also stressed that the constitutional right of people to be secure in their houses makes the forcible entry, search, arrest and seizure of individuals inside the safety of their abodes without a determined probable cause illegal.
“Thus, forcible entry and transfer of an individual to an isolation facility under the guise of health and safety must be avoided,” De Guia said.
“We urge the government to be more circumspect in enacting contact tracing actions and refrain from utilizing sweeping measures that may lead to the diminution of the rights of individuals. As all human rights are interrelated and interdependent, the protection of all rights must be balanced,” she added.
The Department of Health said COVID-19 patients are allowed to observe home quarantine as long as safeguards such as having a separate room and bathroom for patients are in place.
The World Health Organization urged local government units to make “better use” of isolation facilities in their area to prevent the further spread of the virus.
‘Tokhang-style’
The proposal also alarmed human rights watchdog Karapatan, who warned that such house-to-house searches will “further facilitate state terror and police brutality” in communities.
“[These searchers] could possibly lead to more tokhang-style human rights violations such as arbitrary and violent arrests as well as illegal searches, fronts for the surveillance, profiling and harassment of activists and ordinary folks mere days before the Anti-Terrorism Act takes effect, or worse, more killings,” Cristina Palabay, Karapatan secretary general, said.
Police are accused of being overly forceful while implementing quarantine measures in the country, including arrests for minor violations.
Año was quoted as saying in a GMA 7 interview Wednesday that cops will only assist LGU officials and health personnel in the house-to-house search.
“What the people need is a strong, community-based response that values public trust and puts people’s rights and welfare front and center in its implementation—not militarization and human rights violations, not de facto martial law,” Palabay said.
The coronavirus pandemic has so far infected 57,545 people in the country, with 1,603 deaths.
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