City health officials on Monday snubbed anew an invitation by the City Council for them to address reports of repeated violations of health protocols involving several individuals.
The CHO’s explanation was sought by the City Council after it expressed concern over reports that certain individuals, mostly categorized as allowed persons outside residence (APOR), have violated the strict quarantine measures enforced in Puerto Princesa.
“At the end of the day, nasa inter-agency task force (IATF) o incident management team (IMT ang desisyon). Ang ayaw lang natin, ‘yong hindi alam ng IATF/IMT [ang mga pangyayari],” said councilor Herbert S. Dilig on Monday, who requested the presence of the local health officials for what was supposed to be a “Question Hour”.
According to an informant, a ranking official from the Criminal Investigation and Detection Group (CIDG), who arrived on August 19 from Metro Manila, was allowed to “wander around” without being subjected to the mandatory 10-day quarantine period.
“Essential workers” from outside Palawan, who were flown in the province for “related electricity and cellular site” constructions in Puerto Princesa City and El Nido, have also allegedly violated the quarantine protocols by exploiting loopholes on arrivals and departures.
Certain workers have allegedly declared they had a returning flight in order to avoid being quarantined, but later on rebooked their flights and extended their stay in the city.
In an earlier report, an assistant school’s superintendent from Coron traveled to Puerto Princesa without coordination city health authorities, and asked to be exempted from the mandatory 14-day quarantine period for arriving individuals.
The City Health Office (CHO) has not responded to the messages and calls by Palawan News.
