Lawyer drafting complaint vs. Koko Pimentel over quarantine breach

A lawyer is drafting a complaint against Senator Aquilino "Koko" Pimentel III over his alleged breach of his own quarantine for a then-suspected coronavirus disease (COVID-19) infection so he could accompany his pregnant wife to the hospital.

Private lawyer Rico Quicho said he is looking into criminal, civil, and administrative charges to hold the senator liable for his alleged action, which the Makati Medical Center (MMC) has called "irresponsible and reckless."

"Drafting complaint. I want to be as thorough as possible.  Waiting for other medical associations to send more info," Quicho said in a message to reporters.

In a Facebook post, Quicho said they are preparing a complaint based on provisions of the Revised Penal Code and special laws, and told the Philippine Medical Association, doctors, nurses, and patients that they can file complaints of their own.

Pimentel announced on Wednesday that he had tested positive for COVID-19. Hours later, MMC released a statement calling him out for allegedly bringing his pregnant wife, Kathryna, to the hospital Tuesday evening for delivery via Cesarean section.

The hospital's medical director, Saturnino Javier, said Pimentel violated his home quarantine protocol and unduly exposed hospital staff to possible infection.

The senator, who has since apologized, admitted he accompanied his wife to the hospital but said he left immediately after learning of his COVID-19 test result. Both he and Kathryna said they did not enter the delivery room.

In his post online, Quicho encouraged MMC to release their CCTV footage and help them file criminal complaints, saying this is part of their corporate social responsibility.

The Department of Justice has said that "for a complaint to prosper, those who have personal knowledge of the incident should file the complaint." Officials have not said they will launch an investigation of their own even without anyone filing a complaint.

"As I have said before, during abnormal times like these, when people are prone to commit mistakes or violations of the law, the DOJ will temper the rigor of the law with human compassion," Justice Secretary Menardo Guevarra said Wednesday night.

"But this is not to say that the DOJ will not act upon the filing of a proper complaint by any interested party," he said.

'Indifference'

Quicho called out the DOJ's "indifference" and claimed that Pimentel clearly violated the law.

"Hindi dahilan ang excitement para expose ang madaming tao at mga medical practitioners sa kapahamakan. Anong human compassion? Libu-libo hinuhuli on the spot for violation of ECQ (enhanced community quarantine). Kasi nga kailangan social distancing," he said.

"Bakit kapag ordinaryong mamamayan ang dali niyong ipahiya, saktan at hulihin. Kapag si Koko at mga VIP puro kayo palusot at nagaabogado pa kayo sa kanila. Double standard na, whitewash pa. Kaya patuloy tayong magtulungan," he added.

Before the Pimentel incident, the DOJ had said violators of the Luzon quarantine guidelines could be arrested for "non-cooperation" even if they did not seriously disobey authorities.

The DOJ said arrests could be made under Republic Act No. 11332, or the Mandatory Reporting of Notifiable Diseases and Health Events of Public Health Concern Act, which penalizes the "non-cooperation" of persons who have a notifiable disease, should report or respond to such diseases, are affected by health events of public concern.

Prohibited acts under the law are punishable by a fine of P20,000 to P50,000 and/or one to six months of imprisonment.

In a separate statement, Quicho said he understands the worries of an expectant father with COVID-19 symptoms, but added that Pimentel "should also know the virtue in sacrifice, lalo na’t maraming buhay ang nadamay at maraming frontliners ang na-expose."

"All he had to do was to simply stay at home. But he refused to do that. When he made the reckless decision to go to MMC, all he had to do was to declare his PUI status. He also refused to do that. It is the height of irresponsibility to hide his PUI status and mask his movement around MMC," he said. --KBK, GMA News