MANILA, Philippines — The Department of Health has endorsed a quarantine breach complaint against Sen. Aquilino “Koko” Pimentel III to the police and the National Bureau of Investigation, Undersecretary Maria Rosario Vergeire confirmed Friday.
In a media forum, Vergeire said the agency forwarded the complaint of lawyer Rico Quicho to law enforcers.
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“We have endorsed it to appropriate authorities such as the NBI and the Philippine National Police,” the health official said.
Pimentel was widely criticized in March for going to Makati Medical Center with his then pregnant wide when he was supposed to be on self-isolation.
The hospital management denounced his “irresponsible and reckless action.” The senator has since apologized for breaking the hospital's protocols.
Quicho, former dean of the University of Makati, filed a complaint against Pimentel for breaching quarantine protocols. He accused the senator of violating the Mandatory Reporting of Notifiable Diseases and Health Events of Public Health Concern Act when he went to MMC with his wife despite his pending COVID-19 test results, which later turned out to be positive.
Pimentel’s defense
In a counter-affidavit filed before the Department of Justice, Pimentel said he was charged “based on a mere hearsay.”
“Atty. Quicho theorizes that by having a sample collected for COVID-19 testing on March 20, 2020, I was already identified as a person under investigation (PUI) and was required to undergo a mandatory self-quarantine. Atty. Quicho’s reasoning is that since a PUI has to be tested then all those who have been tested are PUIs. He is grossly mistaken,” Pimentel said.
He cited Health Secretary Francisco Duque’s statement that some prominent personalities requested testing.
“This is just a statement of fact and I am not praising or endorsing this VIP testing. Hence, what is the inevitable implication of this fact? That not all of those tested for COVID-19 as of March 20, 2020 were PUIs. Some were simply VIPs,” he said.
Under DOH's standards at the time, a PUI is a person who at least two of these qualifications:
- Signs and symptoms
- Travel history in the past 14 days to areas with issued travel restrictions
- History of exposure
— Gaea Katreena Cabico with report from Kristine Joy Patag