PNP denies blaming OCD for police doctor's death in quarantine facility

The Philippine National Police (PNP) on Tuesday clarified that it is not blaming the Office of Civil Defense (OCD) for the recent death of a police doctor due to chemical inhalation.

In a statement, PNP spokesperson Police Brigadier General Bernard Banac also said they are not pointing to the OCD as the source of concentrated disinfectant solution at the Ultra quarantine facility that killed Police Captain Casey Gutierrez.

Banac said it was only recommended that the OCD would assist in the determination of the source of the chemicals because it is the agency that accredits service providers in the quarantine facilities managed by the PNP.

Banac issued the statement a day after PNP chief Police General Archie Francisco Gamboa said the OCD, as well as the service providers, must be included in the investigation on Gutierrez's death.

Gutierrez, 31, died on May 31 after inhaling a chemical while at a quarantine facility for COVID-19 patients managed by the PNP.

Following the remarks of the nation's top cop, the OCD said it did not purchase or provide any decontamination chemicals for the Ultra quarantine facility. It also said it is not involved in the "actual management and operation" of the site.

"The only services that were arranged by OCD are food catering, lodging for servicing personnel, provision of PPEs, hygiene kits, medical equipment and supplies, janitorial services and waste collection and disposal," OCD spokesman Mark Timbal said in a separate statement.

"We are confident that the PNP, who manages the Ultra COVID-19 quarantine facility, would be able to resolve this matter by verifying where the said chemical actually came from and by examining their procedures involved in disinfecting the facilities they manage as well as the protection of their frontline staff," Timbal said.

Timbal also said the OCD is open to any investigation which aims to shed light on Gutierrez's death.

Gamboa earlier said an investigation is being done, not only to determine who is liable, but also to identify what aspects need to be improved in managing quarantine facilities. --Anna Felicia Bajo/KBK, GMA News