By Chito A. Chavez
Department of the Interior and Local Government (DILG) Secretary Eduardo M. Año on Wednesday ordered the relief of Bureau of Fire Protection (BFP) Region 6 Director Fire Senior Supt. Roderick P. Aguto after one of his personnel broke quarantine protocols on Boracay Island.
DILG Secretary Eduardo Año (PCOO / FILE PHOTO / MANILA BULLETIN)
In a DILG report, it was noted that the fire officer roamed the Boracay Island while waiting for the PCR (polymerise chain reaction) test result for COVID-19 which came out positive.
“We will never tolerate any wrongdoing by our BFP personnel or any other DILG personnel for that matter because lives are at stake here,’’ Año said.
Panahon ng pandemya ngayon at hindi puwede ang mga palusot (This is the time of the pandemic Excuses are not allowed). Moreover, as law enforcers, we must set a good example to our people and the breach of quarantine protocols sets a very bad example,” he added.
Año has appointed Fire Senior Supt. Jerry D. Candido, the Director for Logistics of BFP-National Headquarters (NHQ), as officer-in-charge (OIC).
Saying the extreme difficulty of contact tracing, Año branded as deplorable any negligent or careless acts of public safety officers “in this time of pandemic’’.
DILG Undersecretary and Spokesperson Jonathan Malaya said that Año has directed BFP Chief Jose Embang to immediately investigate the matter and to submit the results of the investigation to his office.
Based on the initial report, the positive PCR result of the concerned personnel came out June 14, 2020 and it was found out that she had close exposure to her two colleagues.
Malaya said that the BFP Regional Office is now conducting swabbing and placing under quarantine all its personnel who had contact with the subject individual.
As of Tuesday, 196 BFP-6 personnel have undergone rapid tests.
The BFP-6 Regional Office, its provincial offices, and fire stations have been placed under lockdown and were advised to observe strict sanitation and disinfection efforts.
READ MORE: Boracay gov’t scrambles to trace contacts of BFP-6 personnel with COVID-19