Robredo: Accredited quarantine facilities should be penalized for breaches

Vice President Leni Robredo on Sunday said that hotels accredited as quarantine facilities by the Department of tourism (DOT) should be penalized if proven that their guests skipped their mandatory quarantine.

“‘Pag nangyari siya, kailangan talagang i-penalize ‘yung hotel. Kasi the mere fact na ina-accredit kayo ng DOT, partner kayo ng pamahalaan to make sure na ‘yung naka-quarantine sa inyo ay hindi lalabas diyan until hindi sila nagkaroon ng negative RT-PCR test,” Robredo said on her weekly radio program.

(When this happens, the hotels really need to be penalized. Because the mere fact that they are accredited by the DOT means they are a partner of the government to make sure that those who are quarantined will not come out until they tested negative in a RT-PCR test.)

The Makati City government on Thursday served a closure order on Berjaya Hotel in Makati City after the Department of Tourism (DOT) suspended its accreditation for failing to stop a guest from breaking quarantine.

The hotel's guest, Gwyneth Chua, a returning Filipino from the United States, skipped quarantine in December to attend a party and go to several restaurants in Makati.

On December 27, Chua tested positive for COVID-19. Her fellow party-goers and some patrons and staff of a restaurant later tested positive for the disease.

The hotel asked DOT for kindness as it vowed that it will not tolerate quarantine skippers and other health protocol violators.

Robredo said that quarantine facilities that disregard their contract with the DOT need to be punished accordingly.

“Kailangan talaga imbestigahan at kailangan i-penalize 'yung mga hotel na hindi nag-comply doon sa kontrata nila with DOT,” Robredo added.

(Hotels that do not comply with their contract with DOT really need to be investigated and penalized.)

Chua, her parents, and her boyfriend are facing raps for violation of Republic Act 11332 or the Mandatory Reporting of Notifiable Diseases and Health Events of Public Health Concern Act. — BM, GMA News