DOJ junks quarantine breach complaint vs. Koko Pimentel

The Department of Justice has dismissed a criminal complaint against Senator Aquilino Pimentel III over his alleged quarantine breach last year.

Pimentel drew criticism in March 2020 when he accompanied his wife to a hospital despite supposedly being under quarantine for a then-suspected and later confirmed COVID-19 infection.

The senator explained that he learned of his positive COVID-19 test result when he was already at the hospital and claimed that he left immediately.

Lawyer Rico Quicho filed a complaint against Pimentel with the DOJ, accusing the lawmaker of violating Republic Act No. 11332 and regulations of the Department of Health.

But prosecutors, after a lengthy preliminary investigation, dismissed the complaint for lack of probable cause, which means they will not file a case in court.

The Office of the Prosecutor General under the DOJ said Pimentel is "not a public health authority" and was thus "not obliged to report" under the mandatory reporting provision of RA 11332.

But assuming that he had to report his medical condition as a private individual, prosecutors said "there was nothing to report" at the time he went to the Makati Medical Center and the S&R at Bonifacio Global City on March 24 and March 16, respectively.

The DOJ said Pimentel "only knew or learned about his condition of being positive for COVID-19 on the same day – 24 March 2020, while he was already at the premises of the hospital."

"There is no 'non-cooperation' under Section 9(e) of R.A. No. 11332 as Senator Koko Pimentel was deemed to have 'cooperated' when he left the hospital premises immediately after receiving the information about his medical condition," the DOJ said.

It added that the complaint itself, filed by Quicho, was "fatally defective."

It said Quicho was not the "proper party" to file the complaint and that his evidence was all based on news reports and considered "hearsay." 

The National Bureau of Investigation, which conducted its own investigation, also recommended to the DOJ that the case be "closed and terminated," according to Prosecution Attorney Honey Delgado, spokesperson of the prosecutor general's office.

In a Facebook post, Quicho said he did his part.

"Bulag, pipi at bingi ang DOJ. Taumbayan na ang huhusga," he said.

'Unassailable, correct'

Pimentel welcomed the Office of the Prosecutor General's decision and described it as "unassailable and correct."

"Tama naman 'yan. The complaint criminally charged me for violation of NON PENAL DOH issuances which are not even addressed to me. How can something non criminal all of a sudden become criminal when you are not even expected to be knowledgeable or an expert about their contents?" he said in a message to reporters.

He also questioned the credibility of the complainant.

"The person who charged me was not even anywhere near me or the place of the incident. [Nakakapagtaka] why he became all of a sudden the source of the allegations," Pimentel said.

The senator previously hinted that the filing of the complaint against him was ill-motivated.

"[A]kala ko kasi itong kaso na ito ay 'in pursuit of justice?' Baka naman in pursuit of something else. Come 2022 masasabi niyo na tama pala ako," he said.

RA 11332

Quicho accused Pimentel of violating RA 11332, or the Mandatory Reporting of Notifiable Diseases and Health Events of Public Health Concern Act.

This law prohibits the unauthorized disclosure of private and confidential information on a patient’s medical condition or treatment; the tampering of records or intentionally providing misinformation, and the non-operation of disease surveillance and response systems.

It also penalizes the "non-cooperation" of persons and entities that should report and/or respond to notifiable diseases or health events of public concern or those who were identified as having the notifiable disease or are affected by the health event.

The prohibited acts are punishable by a fine of P20,000 to P50,000 and/or one to six months of imprisonment.

At the beginning of COVID-19 restrictions last year, the DOJ cited this law in warning that people who would violate what was then the Luzon-wide quarantine could be arrested even if they did not seriously resist authorities.

"That is how the law stands, and the reasoning behind it seems pretty straightforward: in times of a health event of a public concern, an unfounded insistence to act in a way that imperils our collective health can be criminally sanctioned," then-Justice Undersecretary Markk Perete said.

Police officers arrested curfew violators in Manila and eventually released many of them upon orders by prosecutors.

When Pimentel made headlines for his supposed quarantine breach, critics called for his arrest based on this same law, but the DOJ said it would not investigate unless a complaint is filed.

"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 at the time.

Quicho filed his complaint in April 2020, and Guevarra promised a fair investigation.

In May, then-Metro Manila police chief and now Philippine National Police chief Police General Debold Sinas was revealed to have celebrated his birthday through a mañanita" despite a strict prohibition on mass gatherings.

A criminal complaint, also for violation of RA 11332, was filed against Sinas before the Taguig prosecutor's office and has not yet been resolved. — with Dona Magsino/RSJ, GMA News