Drilon corrects PNP chief: COVID-19 patients are not like criminals

Published July 17, 2020 04:06 PM By DONA MAGSINO,GMA News

Senate Minority Leader Franklin Drilon on Friday denounced Philippine National Police chief Police General Archie Francisco Gamboa's analogy which allegedly likened the house-to-house search for asymptomatic and mild COVID-19 cases to hunting fugitives.

"Such remark is uncalled for. It does not achieve anything but instill fear rather than trust in law enforcers and in the fight against COVID-19 pandemic," Drilon said in a statement.

The senator, who earlier warned that the house-to-house search may run against the Constitution, said Gamboa and all other government officials must be more careful in their choice of words.

"The  individuals afflicted with the virus are not criminals and they should not be, in any way, viewed as and compared to criminals. That is very wrong,” Drilon said.

Earlier this week, Gamboa was quoted in some reports as saying: "This plan is like locating a criminal and when you have located one, you have to find his accomplices."

Drilon stressed that the virus is the enemy, not the people infected with it.

“When a person suspected of contracting COVID-19 virus resists efforts to bring them to isolation facilities, what happens? Will there be a surge in ‘nanlaban’ cases again similar to thousand cases of nanlaban claims in Operation Tokhang?” he asked.

Instead of sowing fear, the government should try its best to instill trust among the people for the benefit of strengthening the campaign against the further spread of the virus, according to the lawmaker.

Interior Secretary Eduardo previously clarified that the search will be led by local health officials—not cops— and stressed that it is pursuant to Section IV (f) of Republic Act 11332 or the "Mandatory Reporting of Notifiable Diseases and Health Events of Public Health Concern Act."

Malacañang, on the other hand, said there will be no house-to-house search. Patients not qualified for home quarantine will be escorted only after such have been reported.

Health Undersecretary Maria Rosario Vergeire said the Department of the Interior and Local Government is authorized to monitor home quarantine patients through its Barangay Health Emergency Response Teams.—AOL, GMA News
 

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