Zubiri files bill penalizing persons evading mandatory quarantine during pandemic

Senate Majority Leader Juan Miguel Zubiri on Tuesday filed a bill penalizing individuals who evade or skip mandatory quarantine set by the government during a pandemic.

Senate Bill 2470 seeks to amend Section 9 of Republic Act 11332 or the Law on Reporting of Communicable Diseases to include engaging in “non-compliance, evasion, or skipping off on mandatory quarantine or isolation” under its prohibited acts and set commensurate penalties for the said violations.

Zubiri also wants to hold individuals or entities who “aid” the quarantine violator or “owners, officials, or employees of quarantine and isolation facilities, government officials and employees” who act as “accomplice” in the non-compliance of the isolation protocol liable under SB 2470.

Those who breach the quarantine protocols as well as their accomplice may be slapped with a fine amounting to P500,000 to P1 million and/or imprisonment of one to six years.

However, if another person contracts the disease and results to his/her permanent incapacity or death due to the quarantine breach, Zubiri proposed a penalty of P1 million fine and payment of civil damages or imprisonment of six to 12 years, or both such fine, payment of civil damages, and imprisonment at the discretion of the proper court.

Under RA 11332, only the following acts are prohibited and penalized:

• Unauthorized disclosure of private and confidential information pertaining to a patient’s medical condition or treatment;
• Tampering of records or intentionally providing misinformation;
• Non-operation of the disease surveillance and response systems;
• Non-cooperation of persons and entities that should report and/or respond to notifiable diseases or health events of public concern; and
• Non-cooperation of the person or entities identified as having the notifiable disease, or affected by the health event of public concern

In explaining the bill, Zubiri cited the incident of a returning overseas Filipino who breached quarantine protocols to attend a social event with friends, and later tested positive for COVID-19.

“This measure seeks to address the issue arising from this incident by prohibiting non-compliance, evasion or skipping off on mandatory quarantine or isolation or commission of breach of health protocols of persons potentially have or presumed to have or identified as having the notifiable or highly transmissible disease or disease of international concern, especially during a pandemic or public health emergency. It further introduces higher penalties for the said violations,” he said in his explanatory note.

Zubiri said such irresponsible acts committed by certain individuals “undermine our collective efforts to control the spread of COVID-19 in the country and this should not be tolerated.” — RSJ, GMA News