A second case on the government’s response to the coronavirus disease (COVID-19) pandemic was filed with the Supreme Court (SC) on Friday urging the High Court to compel the government to conduct “proactive and efficient” mass testing for COVID-19 and to “release immediately accurate, timely, and complete information” on the drive against the pandemic.
The first case, which challenged the constitutionality of certain provisions in the Bayanihan to Heal as One Act under Republic Act No. 11469 and Presidential issuances related to the law that was enacted to prevent the spread of COVID-19, has been dismissed by the SC with the ruling that there was no grave abuse of discretion committed by the government.
The second petition on COVID-19 was filed by a group led by former Social Welfare Secretary Judy Taguiwalo. The group was assisted by the National Union of People’s Lawyers.
Among the respondents named in the petition were Health Secretary Francisco Duque III, Cabinet Secretary Karlo Nograles, Defense Secretary Delfin Lorenzana, Interior and Local Government Secretary Eduardo Año, and Peace Adviser Carlito Galvez, who is also the chief implementer of the National Action Plan against COVID-19.
The petitioners told the SC “it is the obligation and duty of the government, through its agencies, instrumentalities, and agents such as herein respondents, to protect the Filipinos’ right to health which is necessary to one’s fundamental right to life.”
“The omission of proactive and efficient mass testing amid the COVID-19 pandemic has shown that a systematic and normalized violation of the right to health engenders the impairment of other human rights and liberties, such as the rights to travel, livelihood or work, education, and access to justice,” they said.
On the release of “accurate, timely, and complete information” on COVID-19, the petitioners said:
“Without accurate and timely information on the extent of community transmission of COVID-19, the government lacks proper grounds for any policy pronouncement. These irregularities lessen the confidence of the public in the ability of the Department of Health (and the government in general) to deal with the pandemic with transparency and integrity.”
Thus, they asked the SC to compel the government “to conduct proactive mass testing, efficient contact tracing, and isolation and effective treatment of positive cases.”
At the same time, the petitioners raised the issue on community quarantine.
They said: “This petition raises violations of the rights to health by the continuing imposition of community quarantine without any clear plan to conduct mass testing, contact tracing, treatment and isolation as a precondition to the safe reopening of spaces.”
Community quarantine was imposed in the country last March 15.
As of July 2, there were 38,805 confirmed COVID-19 cases with 10,673 recoveries, and 1,274 deaths.