Yes! Panglao Mayor Leonila Montero said, she issued a letter of acceptance (LOA) to four (4) police officers including the controversial ex-Dauis chief Lt. Bonifacio Tañola.
The LOA was issued to them as the police officers wanted to undergo quarantine in Panglao.
Despite insinuations that the issuance was “irregular”, the move of Montero to issue an LOA to Tañola was above board as there have been instances in the past where authorized persons outside residence (APOR) opted to use the quarantine facilities located in Panglao.
Montero’s decision to issue an LOA to Tañola even though the police officer was assigned in Dauis is fine, according to Provincial Administrator Kathyrin Pioquinto.
Pioquinto, in a radio interview over Newsmakers Ug Uban Pa on Thursday, Feb. 11, 2021, hosted by Ardy Araneta-Batoy and Gloria Leodivica Araneta, stressed that it is the mayor’s discretion to issue an LOA to any person like in the case of Tañola who is an APOR.
“It is the discretion for a particular mayor to issue an acceptance for an [locally stranded individuals] LSI and APOR. Naay mangutana nga taga ingon aning lungsod mana sya nganong pikas man nga lungsod ang nidawat ani. Because it is also [nga] naay presumption of regularity and ikaduha kun diha sya mag-quarantine pananglitan okay ra,” bared the provincial administrator who is also the administrator of the Bohol Inter Agency Task Force (BIATF).
In a telephone interview yesterday, The Bohol Tribune asked Montero: “Why did your LGU issue an LOA to Tañola and other police officers for the Jan. 27, 2022 trip?
The mayor answered by saying that the police officers asked for an LOA from the LGU as they wanted to undergo their quarantine in the town of Panglao.
“Tungod kay daghan sila o upat sila ka-buok nga pulis nga niuli unya mitawag sila nga magpa-accept kay anha sila magpa-quarantine sa Panglao,” Montero said.
Montero mentioned in the interview that Panglao accepts authorized persons outside of residence (APOR) who are not from Panglao but who would want to undergo quarantine in the said municipality.
“Daghan man ta mga APOR nga dili taga Panglao, gi-dawat nato with the condition nga anha pud sa Panglao magpaquarantine aron ma-monitor sa atong MHO,” Montero stressed.
In the case of Tañola, Panglao issued the LOA to him believing that he will return to Bohol together with other police officers on Jan. 27, 2021.
Montero further stressed that the LOA issued by the LGU of Panglao is only good on the date indicated in the letter.
The letter was good for Tañola’s return on Jan. 27. It was later known that Tañola returned to Bohol, from his Cebu sojourn on Jan. 29 and not on Jan. 27 as indicated in the LOA signed by LGU Panglao.
“Actually, si Tañola gitagaan namo ug acceptance Jan. 27, unya niadtong Jan. 27, si Tañola wala mudayon ug larga [paingon sa Bohol]. Unya ang atong acceptance sa LGU sa Panglao is a one-time acceptance specific to the date issued. Unya si Tañola diay niuli ug Jan. 29. So Jan. 29, wala na koy acceptance kang Tañola na gi-issue,” Montero said in the telephone interview.
She bared that Tañola did not join the group of police officers who returned to Bohol from Cebu on Jan. 27.
“Wala mouban si Tañola sa grupo sa mga pulis nga miuli pag Jan. 27,” Montero said.
Montero added by saying: “Ang Jan. 27, was the date that miuli sila [police officers] ug muabot sila sa Bohol, ug [ang] Panglao nihatag ug acceptance kay adto sila i-quarantine sa quarantine facilities nato nga gi-andam para nila ug gi-allow sa atong MHO [Municipal Health Officer],”
Montero learned that the reason Tañola skipped his original return date was in order for the latter to visit his family in Cebu.
“Mao na si Tañola, as per record in our LGU, wala miuli sa 27th. After contact tracing nga atong gihimo kay pagkahibaw nato nga positive siya, nag contact trace [man] ta, we know nga si Tañola niuli gikan sa Cebu unya pagka Jan. 29. Ug wala na koy gi-issue nga acceptance, And then gi-pick up siya sa ilahang patrol car sa Dauis ug wala muanha si Tañola sa Panglao,” Montero bared.
Moreover, she told The Bohol Tribune, that Tañola needed to ask for another LOA for Jan. 29 as his LOA is only good for the indicated arrival date of Jan. 27.
Reports say that Tañola arrived in Bohol via Tubigon from Ouano Wharf in Cebu.
The controversy on the issuance of the LOA surfaced following the revelation of a Capitol official that Montero issued an LOA to Tañola after Sumaylo denied issuing one for the former Dauis police chief.
Reports say that Sumaylo approved Tañola’s departure but it was Montero who issued the LOA for Tañola’s return.
The report added that Dr. Anthony Damalerio, the head of the Provincial Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Office (PDRRMO) and a member of the BIATF said the LGU that issued the departure approval should also be the one to issue the return acceptance.
This runs counter to what Pioquinto said in the Newsmakers ug Uban Pa radio interview.
An LOA is a necessary piece of document which an LSI, or an overseas Filipino worker (OFW) or an APOR needs to secure prior to arrival in Bohol.
The LOA signifies that the LGU is ready to accommodate a returning Boholano or an APOR in the town’s quarantine facilities.
Tañola’s arrival in Bohol attracted controversy as he is allegedly being tagged as the one who spread the virus, infecting at least 25 persons in Dauis.
According to Police Provincial Director Col. Joselito Clarito, Tañola may face criminal and administrative charges in relation to the alleged protocol violation the latter committed.