(Eagle News) – President Rodrigo Duterte directed putting two policemen in two shifts for each quarantine hotel on Tuesday night, Jan. 4, 2022. This is to ensure that there would be no more persons under quarantine escaping from their mandatory isolation amid a spike in COVID-19 cases suspected to be caused by the highly infectious Omicron variant.
Duterte in a pre-recorded “Talk to the People” noted that hotel personnel do not have the police powers and authority to bar and if necessary detain persons under quarantine who are trying to escape or skip the mandatory isolation rules.
“They cannot be doing the police work for the government, itong mga hotels,” the President observed.
“We can maybe designate the hotel, but as to the enforcement, they cannot really enforce itong quarantine,” he said.
Duterte said that it would also “not be legally correct to go after the hotel owners or managers” of these establishments if there are quarantine escapees that they were not able to prevent.
He said delegating a governmental procedure to a private person or entity would have loopholes.
“We cannot transfer the power now of even stopping if they would want to, if they would insist to go out, the hotel owners or whoever is working there cannot be tasked of — or placing the burden of enforcing the rules about quarantine because only government can enforce it,” he said.
-Duterte: Only gov’t personnel can detain quarantine “escapees,” culprits-
The Philippine leader said only government personal can stop physically people who would try to escape quarantine procedures.
“They cannot — physically they cannot stop. They have no authority nor the power,” Duterte said referring to the lack of authority of hotel personnel to stop quarantine violators.
“Ang makapahinto lang sa kanila ‘yung government personnel placed or put there in the hotel to work in the matter of placing people under quarantine. It has to be a government personnel or employee,” he stressed.
During the meeting, Justice Secretary Menardo Guevarra, cited Republic Act No. 11332, or the law or act on “mandatory reporting of notifiable diseases” a one of the laws which can be used against quarantine hotels which failed to stop those skipping or escaping the quarantine mandate.
“There is a provision there on non-cooperation as part of prohibited acts, Mr. President. And it seems to me that non-cooperation on the part of certain entities, which are charged with a duty to respond to the pandemic, may also be punishable,” Guevarra said.
“So these entities, Mr. President, may include establishments, which are charged with a duty, for example, as a quarantine hotel, to ensure that people who are quarantined within the establishment should not be able to jump the quarantine regulations. So with due respect, Mr. President, I think that can also be used,” he explained.
But Duterte noted that there could be problems that would arise later in case of those who would really force their way out of the hotel.
“And if they insist, there will be, I said, some sort of a physical thing kasi pipilitin mo talaga ‘yung tao at makipaglabanan na, that becomes a problem already,” he said.
-Hotel personnel has “no coercive power to stop” quarantine violators-
Guevarra admitted that hotel personnel have not “coercive power to stop” those insistent on escaping quaranting.
“So pulis na lang, two policemen assigned to itong hotels that are quarantined and they also have to keep their — mindful of their duty to advise the person. At kung magpipilit, then the power to arrest them, no doubt about it. Iyong talagang insistent,” Duterte said.
The President said that the police could also arrest culprits or those supposedly under quarantine who were able to escape isolation procedures.
He advised the public and hotel personnel to immediately report to the police these “culprits.”
“In the meantime, you can call the police. Pero ‘pag umalis na talaga, then it’s already the police who would be the first responder diyan sa issue na ‘yan to look for the culprit. The culprit is really ‘yung ayaw sumunod,” Duterte said.
Interior and Local Government Secretary Eduardo Ano said that he had already coordinated with Philippine National Police chief Dionardo Carlos regarding the deployment of police personnel in two shifts.
The spike in COVID-19 cases in Metro Manila is suspected to be due to slips in quarantine protocols because of infected travelers from abroad who had escaped the mandatory quarantine period. On Wednesday, Jan. 4, the country posted over 5,000 new COVID-19 cases, the highest in recent months.
-Charges filed against Filipina from US who escaped quarantine hotel-
Police has already filed charges against a returning Filipina from the United States who breached quarantine protocols. Her parents, her boyfriend and five other persons had also been charged for violating RA 1133.
The Filipina, identified as Gwyneth Chua, had checked in at the Berjaya Hotel Makati on Dec. 22 at 11:23 p.m. But she was later seen in a bar and restaurant on Dec. 23 and on Dec. 25. She later returned to the hotel. On Dec. 16, Chua tested positive for Covid-19, but at that time, she had already infected around 15 people she was with. The hotel already apologized for “failing to stop” Chua.
(Eagle News Service)