By Jean Fernando
Parañaque City Mayor Edwin Olivarez said Saturday that they are just waiting for the result of the investigation made by the City Health Office to determine the charges to be filed against those responsible in the conduct of mass testing for coronavirus to 300 Chinese workers of a Philippine offshore gaming operator (POGO) at an exclusive subdivision.
Olivarez said that the result of the investigation made by the city health office which will be referred to the city’s legal office will be known by next week or up to Wednesday to determine the charges to be filed
He said that the mass testing of 300 Chinese workers was conducted in an open space at the BF Homes clubhouse where a laboratory was reportedly set up to process swab samples set-up by Filipinos who also took the samples.
The incident where POGO workers were lined up at the club house open space became viral on the social media last Thursday and earned several reactions from the netizens, specially among residents near the club house fearing the disease may be spread in the neighborhood.
“There were no notices, no permits from the city health office and the barangay or from the city. We have health protocols,” according to Olivarez.
The mayor said that the testing was illegal because it should have been done at a Department of Health-accredited laboratory or clinic, not at a subdivision’s open space.
Olivarez reveal that the Chinese are residents of the subdivision and working for a POGO firm in Las Piñas. The city government of Las Pinas has not given any statement yet on whether the firm is registered.
He said that the city government is also investigating if the subdivision approved the testing.
In a status posted on Facebook, BF Homes officials said “the entities who are involved did not seek any permits or consent from this office nor the city health office to undertake such activity.”
City administrator Fernando Soriano said that the BF Federation of Homeowner Associations Inc. “solely approved” the testing.
Soriano denied the claim of the netizen who posted the photos that he received information that the city government was behind the mass testing.
He said that the city government “would not spend a single cent for the purpose of mass testing for POGOs.”