DOH endorses quarantine breach raps vs Pimentel to law enforcers
MANILA, Philippines — The Department of Health has endorsed a quarantine breach complaint against Sen. Aquilino “Koko” Pimentel III to the police and the National Bureau of Investigation, Undersecretary Maria Rosario Vergeire confirmed Friday.
In a media forum, Vergeire said the agency forwarded the complaint of lawyer Rico Quicho to law enforcers.
“We have endorsed it to appropriate authorities such as the NBI and the Philippine National Police,” the health official said.
Pimentel was widely criticized in March for going to Makati Medical Center with his then pregnant wide when he was supposed to be on self-isolation.
The hospital management denounced his “irresponsible and reckless action.” The senator has since apologized for breaking the hospital's protocols.
Quicho, former dean of the University of Makati, filed a complaint against Pimentel for breaching quarantine protocols. He accused the senator of violating the Mandatory Reporting of Notifiable Diseases and Health Events of Public Health Concern Act when he went to MMC with his wife despite his pending COVID-19 test results, which later turned out to be positive.
Pimentel’s defense
In a counter-affidavit filed before the Department of Justice, Pimentel said he was charged “based on a mere hearsay.”
“Atty. Quicho theorizes that by having a sample collected for COVID-19 testing on March 20, 2020, I was already identified as a person under investigation (PUI) and was required to undergo a mandatory self-quarantine. Atty. Quicho’s reasoning is that since a PUI has to be tested then all those who have been tested are PUIs. He is grossly mistaken,” Pimentel said.
He cited Health Secretary Francisco Duque’s statement that some prominent personalities requested testing.
“This is just a statement of fact and I am not praising or endorsing this VIP testing. Hence, what is the inevitable implication of this fact? That not all of those tested for COVID-19 as of March 20, 2020 were PUIs. Some were simply VIPs,” he said.
Under DOH's standards at the time, a PUI is a person who at least two of these qualifications:
- Signs and symptoms
- Travel history in the past 14 days to areas with issued travel restrictions
- History of exposure
— Gaea Katreena Cabico with report from Kristine Joy Patag
Metro Manila and other areas in the NCR Plus bubble go into the more relaxed Modified ECQ starting April 12. MECQ has more restrictions than the general community quarantine. Bookmark this page for updates. Photo by The STAR/Michael Varcas
The Department of Health registers an additional 20,741 new COVID-19 infections, the second highest daily increase since the pandemic started.
- Active cases: 157,646 or 7.6% of the total
- Recoveries: 21,962 or, bringing total to 1,869,376
- Deaths: 189, raising toll to 34,062
The Philippines logs a new record high of 22,366 new COVID-19 infections, pushing the total to 1,976,202.
- Recoveries: 16,864 new; 1,797,278 total
- Deaths: 222 new; 33,330 total
- Active cases: 148,594 or 7.5% of total
Ngayong 4 PM, Agosto 30, 2021, ang Department of Health ay nakapagtala ng 22,366 na karagdagang kaso ng COVID-19. Samantala ay mayroon namang naitalang 16,864 na gumaling at 222 na pumanaw.
— Department of Health (@DOHgovph) August 30, 2021
Sa kabuuang bilang ng mga naitalang kaso sa bansa, 7.5% (148,594) ang aktibong kaso, pic.twitter.com/K3z9qxTqHu
The Department of Health logs 17,447 new COVID-19 cases, bringing the national tally to 1,916,461.
- Active cases: 142,531 or 7.4% of the total
- Recoveries: 6,771, bringing the number to 1,741,089
- Deaths: 113, or now 32,841 in total
The Philippines records a new record high of 18,332 COVID-19 cases, the highest single daily rise since the pandemic started. Coronavirus tally in the country is now at 1,857,646.
- Recoveries: 13,794 new; 1,695,335 total
- Deaths: 151 new; 31,961 total
- Active cases: 130,350 or 7% of total
Ngayong 4 PM, Agosto 23, 2021, ang Department of Health ay nakapagtala ng 18,332 na karagdagang kaso ng COVID-19. Samantala ay mayroon namang naitalang 13,794 na gumaling at 151 na pumanaw.
— Department of Health (@DOHgovph) August 23, 2021
Sa kabuuang bilang ng mga naitalang kaso sa bansa, 7.0% (130,350) ang aktibong kaso, pic.twitter.com/JPIDDFWz0Z
The Department of Health logs 16,694 more COVID-19 infections, bringing the national tally to 1,824,051.
- Active cases: 123,935 or 6.8% of the total
- Recoveries: 15,805, pushing total to 1,668,520
- Deaths: 398, bringing total to 31,596
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