Palace thumbs down shame campaign vs. quarantine violators

Presidential Spokesperson Harry Roque said Diño’s suggestion would be a violation of the Data Privacy Act which protects an individual’s personal information. (PCOO file photo)

MANILA – Malacañang on Monday thumbed down the “shame campaign” proposal made by Interior Undersecretary for Barangay Affairs Martin Diño which targets stubborn quarantine protocol violators.

Presidential Spokesperson Harry Roque said Diño’s suggestion would be a violation of the Data Privacy Act which protects an individual’s personal information.

Quoting Interior Undersecretary and Spokesperson Jonathan Malaya, Roque said it is not the policy of the Department of the Interior and Local Government (DILG) to carry out a shame campaign.

“Rerespetuhin pa rin natin ang privacy ng mga magkakasakit. Bagama’t kinakailangan i-report sa DOH iyong mga nagkakasakit pero hindi naman po para isapubliko ang kanilang mga pangalan (We will still respect the privacy of those who are sick. Even though there is a need to report positive cases to the DOH, their names should not be publicized),” he said.

Earlier, Diño clarified that he suggested a shame campaign directed at stubborn quarantine violators, and not coronavirus disease (Covid-19) patients.

He said the “apparent lack of discipline and concern’’ from quarantine violators is one of the primary reasons for the spike in Covid-19 cases.

On the other hand, Roque said he saw no problem with warrantless arrests of quarantine violators as long as the rules of court are enforced.

He explained that local governments units have their own ordinances on quarantine protocols to minimize the transmission of the disease.

“Mayroon po kasing ordinansa na pinatutupad ang mga lokal na pamahalaan ‘no; at nasa rules of court naman po na kapag ang law enforcer ay mayroong personal knowledge, nakikita niya iyong paglabag sa ordinansa, may kapangyarihan naman po sila mag-resort to warrantless arrest (Local government units are implementing ordinances and the rules of court allow that if a law enforcer has personal knowledge or sees the violation of such ordinance, they have the power to resort to warrantless arrest),” he said.

On July 13, the Quezon City government issued guidelines on the warrantless arrest of quarantine violators following a surge in cases of infections.

The memo on the warrantless arrest of quarantine measure violators during community quarantine was addressed to police, city government and barangay officials, and hospital directors.

Quezon City Mayor Joy Belmonte allayed fears of abuse, saying authorities will only do booking procedures after apprehending quarantine violators.

She said they will not detain violators as jails “can be a hotbed for transmission”.

Residents who will experience abuse of power from authorities can file complaints, she added.