A city government official has urged the public to follow the law or they might end up getting punished if they defy the quarantine protocols amid the coronavirus disease 2019 (Covid-19).
In an interview over Davao City Disaster Radio last week, City Legal Officer Osmundo Villanueva said those who will defy the order of the government mind end up facing criminal charges as the country has been placed on national health emergency.
“Ako lang hangyo sa mga tao, during this ECQ, musubay lang ta sa mga directive sa atong national government and also the local government. Dili man ni para kay kinsa, para ni sa atoa gihapon,” he said.
Although the implementation of the order, as well as the accompanying law, Republic Act 11469, will not impede the rights of the people and has not placed the country under martial law, Villanueva said the law and other applicable laws might place those who violated it in precarious situations.
An example, he explained, is those who might defy the order to report for monitoring for possible infection could be charged for violating the Mandatory Reporting of Notifiable Diseases Act.
The Department of Health regional office earlier said that contact-tracing of those who might be exposed to positive Covid-19 cases has become the challenging in curbing the spread of the virus.
This has prompted the agency to tapped law enforcement units as well as the entire intelligence community in tracing down those who might have been infected. (Gian Paolo C. Mallo/Intern ADDU)
