MAKATI QUARANTINE BREACH

Raps eyed vs. hotel but contact tracing a priority —Mayor Binay

The Makati City government is set to file a complaint against the hotel where a returning Filipino traveler from the United States was reported to have skipped her quarantine, Mayor Abby Binay said Tuesday.

In a television interview, Binay however said the city government is focus more on contact tracing efforts than prosecution of involved parties.

“The city is more focused on the number of patients that got infected. That’s really more of our concern rather than, you know, the prosecution can come after. It’s not going to go anywhere. It’s not like it's an immediate concern,” she said on ANC.

Binay said they have an ongoing investigation on Berjaya Hotel where the traveler, identified by the police as Gwyneth Anne Chua, allegedly violated COVID-19 health rules.

“There are several options that we can do. We can suspend their business permit. The Department of Tourism can come up with a recommendation as well,” Binay said on ANC.

She stressed that hotels are accredited as quarantine facilities by the DOT and not by the local government units. However, since Berjaya Hotel is a business establishment located in Makati City, it has to comply with its rules and regulations.

Binay urged hotels and motels in the city that are being used as quarantine facilities to implement the COVID-19 quarantine protocols accordingly.

“I don’t have the manpower just to check if all of them are complying. I think, at the end of the day, it’s really self discipline. You self-regulate. You have to follow the rules. You can’t expect the government to keep on checking if you are following the rules,” she said.

The Criminal Investigation and Detection Group (CIDG) of the Philippine National Police said Chua checked-in at the Berjaya Hotel on December 22, 2021 at 11:23 p.m. At 11:40 p.m. of the same night, she was fetched from the same hotel by her own father with an SUV.

Chua, who was tested positive for COVID-19, had not only skipped quarantine but also attended a party and went to several restaurants, which caused 11 people to get infected.

Berjaya Hotel has apologized for the incident, admitting that it was a "very serious breach" amid the COVID-19 pandemic. It said it would hold accountable the staff who allowed Chua to leave the quarantine area.

On the other hand, both the CIDG and the Bureau of Quarantine are preparing their own complaints against Chua.

Tourism Secretary Bernadette Romulo-Puyat said on Monday that she has received more reports of alleged quarantine breaches in hotels even before the latest incident. —KBK, GMA News