Palace sends condolences to kin of PNP doctor

“Nakikiramay po kami sa pamilya ng police doctor (We are extending our sympathies to the family of the police doctor),” Presidential Spokesperson Harry Roque said in a virtual presser on Tuesday. (File Photo: ALFRED FRIAS/PRESIDENTIAL PHOTO)

MANILA – Malacañang has extended condolences to the family of a police doctor who reportedly died after inhaling a disinfectant while working at a coronavirus disease 2019 (Covid)-19 quarantine facility.

“Nakikiramay po kami sa pamilya ng police doctor (We are extending our sympathies to the family of the police doctor),” Presidential Spokesperson Harry Roque said in a virtual presser on Tuesday.

Roque assured the family of Capt. Casey Gutierrez that the Department of Justice (DOJ) is currently investigating the case.

In a separate statement, Philippine National Police (PNP) chief Gen. Archie Gamboa also mourned the death of Gutierrez and vowed to exert all efforts to ensure that no similar incident would happen in the future.

Gamboa emphasized that the welfare and safety of police personnel performing front line duties is a priority in all PNP operations in this time of health crisis.

In President Rodrigo Duterte’s 11th report to Congress on the government’s Covid-19 response efforts, the Chief Executive bared that the National Bureau of Investigation (NBI) is looking into the death of Gutierrez, a member of the PNP Health Service, “due to alleged inhalation of chemical substance while he was detailed at the Philippine Sports Arena for the care of Covid-19 patients.”

Two police officers namely S/Sgt. Steve Rae Salamanca and Cpl. Runie Toledo, who are both members of the PNP Medical Reserve Force, also experienced a similar problem due to chemical inhalation.

The Department of Health (DOH) and the PNP Health Service are also investigating the death of Gutierrez.

Initial reports showed that Gutierrez was undergoing the mandatory decontamination protocol at the Philippine Sports Arena-Temporary Treatment and Monitoring Facility (PSA-TTMF) on May 24 when he experienced difficulty breathing.

He was taken to the PNP General Hospital but eventually transferred to the Lung Center of the Philippines the next day and died five days after the incident on May 30.

Salamanca and Toledo were treated at the PNP General Hospital.

The decontamination solution was sodium hypochlorite, the initial report showed.