MANILA – Confirmed coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) patients who will not divulge key information will be penalized, Inter-Agency Task Force on Emerging Infectious Disease spokesperson and Cabinet Secretary Karlo Nograles warned. Nograles stressed that it is a must for COVID-19 patients to share accurate information to the Department of Health (DOH) to help the government in its contact tracing efforts and policy directions.
“This is really a public health concern. Nasa state of calamity po tayo at hindi pupuwedeng magsinungaling ang mga pasyente at magbigay ng misinformation,” Nograles said.
Nograles also cited Republic Act 11332 or Mandatory Reporting of Notifiable Diseases and Health Events of Public Health Concern Act, which states that non-cooperation of persons and entities that should report the notifiable diseases carries a penalty of fine of not less than P20,000 but not more than P50,000 or imprisonment of not less than one month but not more than six months or both fine and imprisonment.
Nograles also said that the guidelines for this matter will come from the DOH as he vowed that proper handling of personal information should be taken into account in crafting the guidelines.
“Concealment is not a government policy. In fact, we want more openness, candor, honesty, and truthfulness here because the more truthful people are, including patients, mas makaka-react po tayo ng tama,” Nograles said.
Nograles has earlier said that the government has made it mandatory the public disclosure of personal information relating to positive cases of COVID-19 to strengthen the government’s contact tracing efforts.
Meanwhile, opposition senator Franklin Drilon warned that some of the measures being implemented by IATF in relation to the COVID-19 pandemic could have underlying effects on some rights under existing laws.
Drilon was pointing to measures such as the temporary suspension on the deployment of healthcare workers abroad and the disclosure of personal information related to positive cases.
“Today, we are confronted with a clash between the rights of the people under the Constitution, and duty and obligation of the state to protect and promote public interest due to COVID 19 pandemic,” the Ilonggo senator said./PN
