Senator Christopher “Bong” Go on Friday urged the Department of Justice (DOJ) and the National Bureau of Investigation (NBI) to look at the possible syndicate operating where people required to undergo the mandatory quarantine are able to skip it through means of bribery.
Go made the call as he expressed grave concern over reports that a certain hotel in Makati City allegedly allowed a person under mandatory quarantien to sneak out of its premises, and was later seen in a local bar in the city last December 23.
“As Chair of the Senate Committee on Health, I demand that a thorough and immediate investigation be conducted on the matter,” Go said in a statement.
“I laud the DOT (Department of Tourism) and other agencies for their prompt action,” the senator stressed.
“And I appeal to DOJ and NBI to look at possible syndicate operating where people required to undergo the mandatory quarantine are able to skip it by paying certain sums of money. Kaya dapat tingnan din kung meron bang (That’s why we should probe if there is a) modus operandi, mula sa mga paliparan hanggang sa mga (from the airports down to) quarantine facilities,” he emphasized.
The senator said the government should not hesitate to penalize violators within the bounds of the law.
“Tingnan din dapat kung ano ang mga liabilities ng hotel at ipataw ang kaukulang parusa. Hindi natin pinapalampas ang mga ganitong klaseng gawain (Authorities should also look into the liabilities of the hotel and charge them properly. We should not let the opportunity pass on these illegal acts),” he pointed out.
“Hindi biro ang kinakaharap nating pandemya at napakalaki na nang nagastos ng gobyerno sa ating COVID-19 response (The pandemic we are facing is no joke and the government has been spending so much funds for our COVID-19 response),” Go explained.
The Department of Health (DOH) earlier reported a 6.6-percent positivity rate. For the first time in over a month, new COVID-19 cases soared to 1,623 or nearly double the 889 cases recorded last Wednesday.