Howie Severino: 'To be brought to a mass gathering in Amoranto Stadium is another misguided policy'

Howie Severino took to Facebook late Wednesday afternoon after he was apprehended by QC law enforcers and brought to Amoranto Stadium to attend a seminar on proper face mask use in public.

Sharing photos of his bike ride from this morning, Severino said he understood the need for masks "but to be arrested for this and brought to an infectious mass gathering in Amoranto Stadium is another misguided policy."

Saying he's not worried for himself "since I’ve developed antibodies as a recovered COVID-19 patient," Severino turned his attention to the crowd that gathered there.

"All those people taken from their jobs and put in the same place for the day are exposed to possible infection, defeating the purpose of this punitive approach to a public health problem," the esteemed journalist said.

Severino spent the morning on a bike ride with photographer friends Jilson Tiu, Chris Linag when they decided to stop at a bike shop on Mother Ignacia Avenue in Quezon City.

They met with photojournalist Luis Liwanag and decided to have a drink at the store next door. "Hydration during and after a ride is necessary for our health," Howie said.

He returned his bottle to the store "before I could pull my mask back up, when at least three vehicles of QC law enforcers arrived to tell me I was talking without my mask covering my mouth and had to be brought to Amoranto Stadium for a seminar," he wrote in an earlier Facebook post.

Elmo San Diego of the Quezon City's Department of Public Order and Safety said Severino was able to explain and justify why he pulled his mask down.

"At the time of apprehension, naibaba na niya 'yung tubig doon sa holder pero sabi kasi niya, 'itataas ko na 'yung aking maskara' so tinanong siya, 'binaba mo ba?' sabi niya, 'oho kasi ho umiinom akong tubig...' That's a valid reason naman na pakawalan siya. Apparently tama 'yung sinabi niya, ni-release siya, di na siya kinasuhan..." he told reporters, adding the veteran journalist was immediately released.

Severino is a COVID-19 survivor who shared story in a first-person essay published by GMA News Online on April 7 and in a documentary thereafter. 

GMA News Online has also reached for the Quezon City Police District's side on the matter but it has yet to reply as of posting time. — LA, GMA News