A Filipina balikbayan who 'evaded' quarantine protocol, her accomplices may be charged -- DOJ

A returning Filipina from the United States and her accomplices may face prosecution for having violated quarantine protocols and infected other persons with the coronavirus disease (COVID-19), Justice Secretary Menardo Guevarra said on Friday, Dec. 31.
“Assuming that reports about the incident are factually correct, and without meaning to prejudge the case, there could have been a major violation of ordinances requiring strict observance, under pain of penalties, of quarantine regulations for international travelers, not only on the part of the person concerned but also of those who might have knowingly cooperated with her in committing such violation,” Guevarra said.
“The applicability of RA 11332 (the law on reporting communicable diseases) to violations of this sort has not been tested judicially, so this may be an opportune time to try it,” he said.
A post on Twitter went viral for claiming that a “young lady” who supposedly came back recently from the United States evaded quarantine protocol.
The alleged quarantine violator supposedly tested positive for the COVID-19 and infected many people after going into a party at a hotel in Makati City.
The Department of Tourism (DOT) announced it had started investigating the incident.
“The hotel in question is currently being investigated and has been served a Notice to Explain (NTE), directing the establishment to submit its response to the allegations within three days,” the DOT said in a statement.