OFW and his wife arrested after violating quarantine protocols

An Overseas Filipino Worker (OFW) together with his wife was arrested by the Ozamiz police after violating the quarantine protocols in Ozamiz City.

Photo credit: youtube.com

According to the Ozamiz police, the OFW was quarantined in one of the hotels in the city. The hotel owner discovered that the OFWs wife is also checked-in in the hotel.

According to the mayor of Ozamiz City, Sancho Fernando F. Oaminal, the couple violated the quarantine protocols and health and safety standard of the city. 

The OFW and his wife will face charges on Republic Act No. 11332 otherwise known as Mandatory Reporting of Notifiable Diseases and Health Events of Public Concern Act.

A "notifiable disease" is any disease that is required by law to be reported to government authorities. The collation of information allows the authorities to monitor the disease and provides early warning of possible outbreaks.

It aims to protect people from public health threats through the efficient and effective disease surveillance of diseases of public health concern. The new law recognizes the disease surveillance and response systems of the DOH and its local counterparts as the first line of defense against epidemics or any events that may pose a health threats to the public.

Any person or entity that violates the law will be fine ranging between P20,000 to P50,000, imprisonment between one month to six months, or both at the discretion of the court.

The couple remained silent on the issue. Ozamiz City is on Modified General Community Quarantine (MGCQ) because of the coronavirus disease 2019 pandemic.

This sparks concerns from the netizens. According to some, it is again a display of injustice. Though the couple did really something wrong and it is right to arrest them, netizens hope that the law should also apply to powerful people like politicians and police officers and not only to ordinary and poor citizens. Other netizens added that if politicians or police are the ones caught, the government will only say that it is under investigation, while ordinary people are immediately thrown to jail. Citizens asked for fair and justice judgement for all.