Tying yellow ribbon on the houses of people with coronavirus disease-2019 (COVID-19) in Pateros does not violate the law, an official of the Department of the Interior and Local Government (DILG) said on Tuesday, Sept. 21.
“So yun ang sagot ni Mayor (Miguel Ponce) (That is the reply of the mayor). This is voluntary kaya kung halimbawa’t voluntary naman talaga (yellow ribbon tagging) ang ano, e palagay ko hindi naman siguro nilalabag (that is why for instance that was really voluntary, I think there was no violation),” said DILG Undersecretary for Barangay Operations Martin Diño
“Kaya kung ano yung opinion ni mayor, yun din yung opinion ko (That is why the mayor’s opinion is also my opinion),’’ he added.
Diño issued the statement after Pateros encountered a controversy with concerns that placing yellow ribbons outside the houses of COVID-19 positive individuals in the municipality violates Republic Act (RA) 11332 otherwise known as the “Mandatory Reporting of Notifiable Diseases and Health Events of Public Health Concern Act.’’
Section 9 of RA 11332 prohibits the unauthorized disclosure of private and confidential information on the patient’s medical condition or treatment.
Ponce said Monday that he ordered the tagging policy last week to ensure the monitoring of residents infected with coronavirus.
“Lalagyan kayo (yellow ribbon) kung kayo'y payag lamang. Pag hindi kayo payag, wala tayong problema (We will put it if you would only allow it. There is no problem if you won’t allow it),’’ Ponce said.
Diño stressed putting marks on the residence of COVID-19 positive individuals is a good idea explaining that this might entice the community to work together in the fight against the COVID-19 transmission.
The DILG officials also appealed to the COVID-19 positive persons to remain in house isolation to ensure the safety of their neighbors.
Explaining further, Diño emphasized that those infected with the virus should withstand the burden of being in home isolation for 14 days instead of being confined in an intensive care unit (ICU) of a hospital. (Chito A. Chavez)