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No special treatment: Nograles says quarantine violators in gov't must be held accountable
No special treatment: Nograles says quarantine violators in gov't must be held accountable
The country's laws must be applied evenly to people who break quarantine rules regardless of power and influence, Cabinet Secretary Karlo Nograles asserted Thursday as the country continued to battle a resurgence of coronavirus cases.
(PCOO / MANILA BULLETIN FILE PHOTO)
According to Nograles, a government official caught violating the quarantine rules may face administrative and criminal complaints given the high degree of accountability for public servants.
Nograles issued the latest statement in a bid to dispel speculations that the government has supposedly been soft on quarantine violators within its ranks yet harsh on ordinary citizens. The country has been seeing a surge in coronavirus cases in recent days, prompting local authorities to enforce targeted lockdowns in some neighborhoods to curb the virus transmission.
"We try as much as possible to enforce the law as equally as we can. I think the message is dapat equal ang treatment of the law diyan," Nograles said over ANC's HeadStart Thursday, March 18.
"Whatever ano position ka man (Regardless of your position), whether you're in public or private service, dapat the law knows no positions or anything like that. It has to be applied equally. Kung may mahuli na public official (If a public official is caught), it has to be applied equally," he added.
For government officials who violate quarantine orders, Nograles pointed out that the civil service rules and regulations were in place to discipline erring public servants. He said the Office of the Ombudsman was another mechanism to hold accountable officials engaged in wrongdoing.
"That's institutionalized already. Remember, we are accountable to civil service, the civil service commission and the civil service laws. Hindi lamang kami maaaring sampahan ng civil cases o criminal cases, may administrative cases din kami (We can face not only civil or criminal cases but also administrative cases)," he said.
"The mechanism is there is in place but primarily civil service is there. We have to hold public officials (accountable) at a higher level," he added.
Nograles talked about equality before the law after two prominent public officials, who previously drew criticism for alleged protocol breach, have tested positive for the coronavirus. Both Philippine National Police chief Debold Sinas and Presidential Spokesman Harry Roque have recently contracted the coronavirus disease and have gone into isolation.