Manila Bulletin
Philippines
Pacquiao seeks probe into circulation of letter from Dasmariñas Village barangay head
Philippines
Pacquiao seeks probe into circulation of letter from Dasmariñas Village barangay head
Pacquiao seeks probe into circulation of letter from Dasmariñas Village barangay head
Published Mar 28, 2020 12:00 am
By Vanne Elaine Terrazola
Senator Emmanuel "Manny" Pacquiao said Saturday that he will ask for an investigation into the circulation of the letter of a Dasmariñas Village barangay official ordering him and his household members to stay indoors due to his exposure to a COVID-19-positive colleague.
Senator Manny Pacquiao
(JAY GANZON / MANILA BULLETIN FILE PHOTO) Pacquiao wrote to Barangay Dasmariñas chief Rosanna Hwang responding to the village head's March 27 letter telling him to go into quarantine. In the letter, he sought for explanation as to how the letter made rounds on social media and violated his "right to privacy." "It has come to my attention that your letter has been the subject of several news reports and malicious social media posts. In this regard, I wish to know how this private letter addressed to me went around social media with total disregard to my right to privacy," Pacquiao wrote. "Meantime, I will refer this matter to the appropriate agency for proper investigation to avoid the same incident from happening." Pacquiao also "reminded" Hwang to refrain from making conclusions based on "unverified news items and malicious social media posts." He also questioned Hwang's use of the word "partying" to describe the March 4 meeting of Partido Demokratiko ng Pilipinas-Lakas ng Bayan (PDP-Laban) at his residence, which Sen. Aquilino "Koko" Pimentel III also attended. Pimentel tested positive for COVID-19, the result of his test coming out while he was with his pregnant wife at the Makati Medical Center last Monday (March 24). "The picture that you may have been referring to wherein I was seen interacting with Sen. Koko Pimentel and other officials, was a political meeting with PDP-Laban members in my residence. This event happened on March 4, 2020. I am sure our Dasmariñas Village guards have records of this if only a proper verification was made," Pacquiao said. "Let me also emphasize that it was not 'partying' as stated in your letter. It was a political meeting. The word 'partying' casts me as someone insensitive to the current crisis of the nation." Pacquiao asked Hwang to stop "sending out official barangay communications directed to individuals to news outlets and social media" to avoid unnecessary panic. The senator earlier clarified that he has not left his house since March 24, a day after the Senate's special session. He also mentioned that he tested negative for COVID-19 using a testing kit that is not approved by the Food and Drug Administration. On March 27, Hwang ordered Pacquiao to have his entire household quarantined and that "No one...can come out." Pacquiao, however, requested the village chief to allow a member of his household to go out to buy essential items in line with the national government's quarantine guidelines.
Senator Manny Pacquiao(JAY GANZON / MANILA BULLETIN FILE PHOTO) Pacquiao wrote to Barangay Dasmariñas chief Rosanna Hwang responding to the village head's March 27 letter telling him to go into quarantine. In the letter, he sought for explanation as to how the letter made rounds on social media and violated his "right to privacy." "It has come to my attention that your letter has been the subject of several news reports and malicious social media posts. In this regard, I wish to know how this private letter addressed to me went around social media with total disregard to my right to privacy," Pacquiao wrote. "Meantime, I will refer this matter to the appropriate agency for proper investigation to avoid the same incident from happening." Pacquiao also "reminded" Hwang to refrain from making conclusions based on "unverified news items and malicious social media posts." He also questioned Hwang's use of the word "partying" to describe the March 4 meeting of Partido Demokratiko ng Pilipinas-Lakas ng Bayan (PDP-Laban) at his residence, which Sen. Aquilino "Koko" Pimentel III also attended. Pimentel tested positive for COVID-19, the result of his test coming out while he was with his pregnant wife at the Makati Medical Center last Monday (March 24). "The picture that you may have been referring to wherein I was seen interacting with Sen. Koko Pimentel and other officials, was a political meeting with PDP-Laban members in my residence. This event happened on March 4, 2020. I am sure our Dasmariñas Village guards have records of this if only a proper verification was made," Pacquiao said. "Let me also emphasize that it was not 'partying' as stated in your letter. It was a political meeting. The word 'partying' casts me as someone insensitive to the current crisis of the nation." Pacquiao asked Hwang to stop "sending out official barangay communications directed to individuals to news outlets and social media" to avoid unnecessary panic. The senator earlier clarified that he has not left his house since March 24, a day after the Senate's special session. He also mentioned that he tested negative for COVID-19 using a testing kit that is not approved by the Food and Drug Administration. On March 27, Hwang ordered Pacquiao to have his entire household quarantined and that "No one...can come out." Pacquiao, however, requested the village chief to allow a member of his household to go out to buy essential items in line with the national government's quarantine guidelines.