Instead of jail time, community service eyed for quarantine violators
enablePagination: false FILE PHOTO
Metro Manila (CNN Philippines, April 6) Those who fail to follow health protocols may only have to do community service instead of facing arrests, Justice Secretary Menardo Guevarra said Monday, over a year into the pandemic and with jails already jampacked with quarantine violators.
Guevarra bared that he already pitched to the Inter-Agency Task Force for the Management of Emerging Infectious Diseases to impose the penalty of community service in localities instead of imprisoning violators a policy shift recommended as Metro Manila and nearby provinces are under enhanced community quarantine for the second time.
An organization of lawyers has welcomed the proposal to have violators of health protocols imposed by local government units (LGUs) to just undergo community service as punishment instead of imprisonment or fine.
Persons who are arrested for violating the enhanced community quarantine (ECQ) should be penalized only by doing community service, not fine or imprisonment, Justice Secretary Menardo I. Guevarra said on Monday, April 5.
(JANSEN ROMERO / FILE PHOTO / MANILA BULLETIN)
And the Department of Interior and Local Government (DILG) is still mum when pressed to comment on calls for mass testing.
Even if mass COVID-19 testing is the ideal solution, many believe that this is not economically possible for a third world country like the Philippines.
Dan Acosta a chicharon (crispy pork skin) dealer from Sta. Maria, Bulacan said people should “not think of the impossible’’ stressing that the harsh reality is “the country cannot afford it’’ stressing that men in the officials are educated people who have thought of that option but are fully aware that (mass testing) is not economically feasible.
“A tampered or falsified test result benefits no one, and can compromise yourself, your family and the community,” the agency said in a statement.
The DOH-CVHD said test results can be considered falsified or tampered if one of the following occurs: one that is presented but no actual testing was conducted; the report reflects the name of another person different from the actual presenter; when the testing center is not licensed nor accredited to perform RT-PCR; when the signatories are not from the testing center; when the details provided is false such as incorrect address, or contact details to evade monitoring and isolation.