"This is potentially one of those test cases. In a time of emergency, it’s really very near-sighted for those officials to think (of preventing) the entry of a SARS suspect to a hospital that is well-equipped to handle (the patient)," Dayrit said.
He added: "Actually, you are going to do yourself a favor because if, in fact, that is a SARS case and they are not able to control it in their neighboring community and that infection goes out of hand, the very city which initially prevented the entry will be affected."
Cagayan de Oro City officials, however, are themselves readying charges against Interior and Local Government Secretary Jose Lina Jr. and other officials responsible for the confinement of the SARS suspect — a 27-year-old caregiver in Taiwan with the initials "MO" — at the Northern Mindanao Medical Center (NMMC).
Councilor Maryanne Enteria said the city has an ordinance that bars any SARS suspect from entering the city and seeking medical attention at the NMMC.
For his part, councilor Reynaldo Advincula, who chairs the municipal council’s committee on health, said the Local Government Code empowers local governments to do all they can to protect the welfare of their constituents.
The SARS suspect arrived from Taiwan last May 30, and flew to Cagayan de Oro two days later en route to her hometown in Bukidnon.
But while in Cagayan de Oro, Dayrit said she developed high fever. Fearing she might spread the disease, she consulted a relative who, in turn, informed DOH epidemiologists.
Health authorities were on their way to bring the SARS suspect to the NMMC last Tuesday when policemen, citing orders from city officials, prevented them.
It was only after Lina talked to the acting mayor, lawyer Noel Guibone, did the police relent. Chief Superintendent Manuel Raval, Region 10 police director, personally accompanied the patient to the NMMC.