Questions have surfaced regarding the reported aborted quarantine stay of a purported female employee of the Provincial Health Office (PHO). The employee allegedly planned to have her home quarantine in barangay Totolan after her trip from Cebu, even if she reportedly is a resident of Tagbilaran City.
Even if the plan of the PHO employee did not materialize, there are lingering questions arising from the issue.
A source who is familiar to the situation in the community told The Bohol Tribune that a midwife said that the PHO employee already nixed the plan to stay in Totolan for a home quarantine after arriving from Cebu for a training. The same source was told that the said employee already arrived in Bohol and is now under quarantine in Tagbilaran.
“Wala na daw gidayon [pag quarantine sa Totolan] kay, kwan, ay dili, nidayon ug uli sir pero tua na sa Tagbilaran gipakwan [quarantine],” the source said.
However, the source raised a question by asking how certain is it that the PHO personnel is, indeed, now under quarantine in Tagbilaran.
“Mao na [nga] nakaingon na pud ko nga sure ba kaha gyud, wala ba kaha nila tagu-i?” the source who is a resident of the area told The Bohol Tribune.
The Bohol Tribune learned from Dauis mayor Marietta Sumaylo that the PHO employee indicated that she no longer is inclined to have her home quarantine stay in Dauis.
As of yesterday afternoon, the PHO employee is yet to arrive in Bohol, according to Sumaylo.
“Wala pa, tua pa to sya sa Cebu,” the mayor said.
Sumaylo learned from the employee through the town’s focal person that in order to avoid conflicts [as questions are arising], the employee decided to undergo her quarantine in a paid facility outside of Dauis. For this reason, the extraction team of Dauis will not be the one tasked to extract the employee from the port of entry and to the quarantine facility.
Even if the plan was discontinued, The Bohol Tribune asked Sumaylo a hypothetical question: will she, the mayor, allow the employee to stay in Dauis had the employee decided to continue with her original plan to have her quarantine in Dauis?
The Dauis mayor said that she will allow the employee to stay in Dais because Totolan barangay captain Raldo Rollorazo issued a certification saying the employee is a resident of the said barangay and the employee also carries a negative result of the polymerase chain reaction (PCR) test upon arrival.
“Musugot ko kay naa man acceptance sa kapitan basta kumpleto sa papeles ug naay swab test nga negative,” the mayor quipped.
After this statement, the mayor then quickly shut down the hypothetical question saying that the plan of the employee is already cancelled.
“Wala namay kaso kay dili naman siya [employee] madayon [ug quarantine sa Totolan],” Sumaylo added
BACKGROUND
The issue stems from a complaint raised by Totolan resident Dr. Rosalinda Paredes to Mayor Sumaylo via a text message.
Paredes’ text message is as follows: “Mayor – naa mi reklamo sa Totolan. Usa ka (name withheld) PHO kuno siya nag trabajo (ako pa i verify ni Dr Yul Lopez) guikan sa Cebu nag training, mo abot ugma unya mo home quarantine sa Totolan, dapit ana “magazine” likod ka boss intong, usa ka balay owned by a certain Teroy. Gui certify daw sa Barangay Captain nga taga dha but amo mga workers nga taga diha wala jud kaila niya. Complain mi ani Mayor kay wala ni masunod sa mga issuances.”
Paredes said that she sent the text message to the Dauis mayor and furnished us a copy of said message. As of the time she furnished The Bohol Tribune a copy of the text message, Paredes did not yet receive an answer to her text from the mayor.
Paredes yesterday sent a message to The Bohol Tribune saying, “Covid is a community concern as it threatens public health and the general wellness of peoples and community. We are raising these issues not to put anyone down but to point out gaps like lack of coordination and transparency in local Covid response such as quarantine policies, need for open and transparent issuance of LGU acceptance and other certificates, etc. As we welcome relaxing protocols and requirements like going into home quarantine, we should not let our guard down as the Covid virus is still very much present around us. No short cuts, no falsities instead open disclosure, coordination and cooperation by all. We heal as ONE.”
The same source said that the residents near the planned home quarantine area are worried about the arrival of the PHO employee who is not a resident of Totolan.
The source said that a relative of the PHO employee who resides in Totolan was the one who pleaded to the barangay captain to issue a certificate of acceptance needed. The same source insisted that the relative of the employee allegedly lied to the barangay captain saying the employee is a resident of Totolan.
“Namakak gyud ang iyang [the employee] uyoan, mao tong na-isyuhan [ug certificate of acceptance],” the source bared.
The source added, “Ingon sya [the relative] seven months sya [the PHO employee] nag stay dinhi sa Totolan.”
As this developed, The Bohol Tribune contacted Rollorazo to verify the truthfulness of the report that he issued a letter of acceptance.
“Nakaisyu ko niya ug acceptance tungod kay ang iyang uyoan ni hangyo sa akong secretary nga total iya man nang pag-umangkon ug naa may balay sa iyang apohan nga ancestral home sa ‘magazine’ mao tong naka isyu ko pero, ako, dili ko musugot kay bawal namo diri na, pero ang iyang uyu-an ang nihangyo nako,” Rollorazo said.
The barangay captain said he was convinced that it is fine for the employee to be quarantined in the said ancestral house.
Rollorazo told The Bohol Tribune to call back by Monday as he has no access to the records of the certification he issued. He needs the records in order to determine the exact date when the letter of acceptance was issued to the PHO personnel including other details about the issue.
SURPRISING PLOT TWIST
The surprising plot twist: the barangay captain bared that the employee already stayed under home quarantine in Totolan but already left. He told this newspaper to call back on Monday, March 1, 2021, so he can provide complete details on when the personnel started her quarantine.
The Bohol Tribune asked the barangay captain if he is sure about his statement that the employee had stayed under home quarantine and left. He answered in the affirmative.
“Mao gani gipirmahan nako kay siya mismo [the employee] ang kay naa silang duha sa iyang bana kuyog,” he said.
He said the said PHO employee already left the barangay as of Friday but the barangay captain failed to mention where the employee went after leaving the home quarantine area.
Rollorazo revealed that the employee’s father is a resident of Totolan and the PHO employee resides in Tagbilaran
The barangay captain also said the employee never told him if the latter arrived from Cebu. All he knows was that the employee wants to undergo home quarantine in Totolan.
With the revelation, The Bohol Tribune contacted again Mayor Sumaylo to relay the statement of the captain. Mayor Sumaylo reiterated her earlier declaration THAT THE PHO EMPLOYEE WAS YET TO ARRIVE FROM CEBU AS OF YESTERDAY AFTERNOON.
Then, The Bohol Tribune contacted the source to ask if the personnel has already arrived in the barangay of Totolan. The source replied in the negative, which is in contrast to the statement of the barangay captain.
The Bohol Tribune sent a text message to City Health Officer Dr. Jeia Pondoc last night and she said the PHO employee was already extracted from the Tagbilaran port and is now under quarantine in a paid facility in Tagbilaran. This was as of yesterday afternoon.
BIATF’S REPLY
To get the side of the Bohol Inter Agency Task Force (BIATF), The Bohol Tribune called Dr. Anthony Damalerio several times but the calls were left unanswered. This newspaper even texted Dr. Anthony Damalerio for an interview but there was no reply.
The Bohol Tribune reached out to Capitol information cluster head Kevin Damalerio to act as a conduit between The Bohol Tribune and Dr. Anthony Damalerio.
However, Kevin Damalerio failed to get a reply from Dr. Anthony Damalerio.
Just the same, Kevin Damalerio suggested that the complainants should file the formal complaint before the Municipal Inter Agency Task Force (MIATF) of Dauis. The BIATF, he said, can get into the picture after the MIATF has already done its part.
The MIATF is the body in Dauis that probes allegations of protocol violations.
It is the same body that investigated the Cafe Racer incident early this month and is yet to release its findings to the public after reportedly conducting an investigation where the media members were denied access to the proceedings.
SO MANY QUESTIONS
With the circumstances surrounding the issue more questions remain unanswered.
- What is the real score? Was the employee already under home quarantine as alleged by the barangay captain? Or is the employee yet to arrive as stressed by Mayor Sumaylo? Or did the employee enter the quarantine facility only yesterday as reported by Pondoc?
- What really pushed the barangay captain to issue the acceptance?
- If the barangay captain thinks that it is improper to allow a non-resident to be placed under home quarantine in Totolan, then why he did he issue the certificate of acceptance?
- If the residents will file a complaint about this issue before the MIATF, how soon will the issue be resolved? Will their complaint not fall into deaf ears? Will the investigation be closed again to the media people?
- Can the residents of Totolan be assured of transparency about the issuances moving forward?
- What actions will the mayor of Dauis take? Will penalty be imposed to those who may have violated the protocols?
- What happened to the Cafe Racer story which was investigated by the MIATF?
- Why is the BIATF’s Dr. Anthony Damalerio unable to give his reply regarding the issue when he was very animated with other allegations of protocol violations allegedly committed by other government officials?
These are the questions that remain in the balance.