‘DOH, AFP chiefs should also be quarantined’

MANILA, Philippines - Senate Minority Leader Vicente Sotto III wants acting Health Secretary Janette Garin and Armed Forces chief Gen. Gregorio Pio Catapang Jr. quarantined as a precautionary measure against the spread of the Ebola virus.

Last Sunday, Garin and Catapang, along with military and Department of Health (DOH) officials, visited the 132 peacekeepers quarantined on Caballo Island off Cavite since their return from Ebola-hit Liberia last week. The two did not wear hazmat or protective suits.

Sotto said the visit of Garin and Catapang to Caballo Island without protective clothing did not make sense as they violated the government’s anti-Ebola protocol when they placed themselves at risk of infection.

“Just because you’re officials, you think you won’t be infected?” he asked. “I’m worried for them. That is my point.”

Sotto said Garin and Catapang don’t know if they have been infected with the Ebola virus during their visit to Caballo Island.

“Unless Dr. Garin is absolutely sure that everything is clear and if everything is clear, why keep them there for 30 days?” he said.

Sotto said government officials must ensure that all protocols against the entry and spread of Ebola are in place and strictly followed.

When Garin and Catapang had contact with the peacekeepers, they somehow violated their own protocol, he added.

‘No rules were broken’

Catapang rejected yesterday Sotto’s allegations that rules were broken when he and Garin and other military and DOH officials visited quarantined Filipino peacekeepers in Caballo Island.

Speaking to reporters, Catapang said the visit was meant to inform the public that the peacekeepers must not be stigmatized.

“Because of the explanation of acting Secretary Janette Garin that we should not be worried, I enjoined her to show to our soldiers that our troops there are safe,” he said.

“She dictates the protocol since she is the acting secretary of health so we are not violating anything. She was with us when we went there.”

Catapang said the quarantine is a precautionary measure to ensure that the Philippines remains Ebola-free.

Ebola patients become contagious only when they start to show symptoms, he added.

Catapang has allowed the peacekeepers to roam the beach around Caballo Island.

Members of media are welcome to visit the quarantine site, Catapang said.

Metro or Caballo quarantine

Filipinos returning home from Ebola-hit countries in West Africa will be quarantined in unidentified sites in Metro Manila.

DOH spokesman Lyndon Lee Suy said they purposely did not identify the sites so as not to stigmatize the estimated 700 returnees.

“There is no final decision yet, but we have seen several venues that are potential quarantine sites for returning workers and other travelers,” he said.

However, Catapang said returning Filipinos from West Africa can be quarantined in Caballo Island.

“They have nothing to fear if they surrender themselves,” he said.

The island can accommodate as many as 400 individuals, he added.

Catapang said nearby Corregidor island is also being considered as a quarantine site.

“If we quarantine a large number of people, we might ask for Corregidor Island,” he said. “It has better amenities and hotels. It’s another paradise island.”

The island can accommodate about 1,000 individuals, he added.

DFA personnel to be quarantined

Department of Foreign Affairs spokesman Charles Jose said members of the government’s Rapid Response Team (RRT), including four DFA personnel sent last week to assess the situation of Filipinos in West Africa, will also be quarantined when they return.

The quarantine facility’s location is one of the “finishing touches” and mechanisms the DFA is awaiting to be put in place, he added.

Jose said the exact location of the quarantine facility is still being determined.

“It’s an interagency coordination work and as for the place where returning OFWs will be quarantined, we’re still awaiting advice from the concerned agency,” he said.

The DFA is closely working with the DOH, Bureau of Quarantine and the Bureau of Immigration.

Two batches of RRT were sent last week to West Africa to help Philippine embassy personnel.

21-day quarantine

Lee Suy said Filipinos returning from Liberia, Sierra Leone and Guinea must undergo a 21-day quarantine like the Filipino peacekeepers to ensure that they are not afflicted with Ebola.

“Troopers who have almost no interaction with the locals in West Africa have been placed in quarantine, so looking at the possible risk it is more justifiable to quarantine the OFWs and travelers who may have likely had interaction with the locals there,” he said.– With Alexis Romero, Mayen Jaymalin, Pia Lee-Brago