Lawmaker, Lawbreaker

I live in Australia now, already a citizen, but my beloved home country is the Philippines. I can't help but still get affected by the bad news circulating in social media. Sometimes I get really passionate about my opinions and beliefs, especially if it's about certain politicians that people voted for and yet don't do what is right and moral. They don't seem to care what people will think or say about them.

Well, this post is about the Philippine Senator who didn't use his own "KOKOTE" (this is a Filipino colloquial term for common sense). He is a lawmaker but is also a lawbreaker!!!

Senator Koko Pimentel exhibited flu-like symptoms starting March 11th. According to the news, he knew he had close contact with a resource person, whom the Senate invited to a hearing to discuss about the new pandemic, and then that person was found to be positive of COVID-19. The said Senator knew that another Senator had already been tested positive as well and was in self-quarantine. So he, along with other Senators, symptomatic or asymptomatic, had himself tested immediately... but he received the result on March 24th. He was then considered a Person Under Investigation during that week.

He knew the protocol. He should have isolated himself away from his own family and community, but what did he do?

On March 24th at 6PM, he took his pregnant wife to the hospital as she was scheduled(?) to give birth via Caesarian section. He said he was excited, his wife was going to give birth, like any husband and father-to-be would feel during this time.

But he was still waiting for the result of that nCOV test. It means, he knew he had 50/50 chance that the result might come out either positive or negative. As a responsible law-abiding citizen (in his case, he is also the lawmaker of the country), he should just have stayed at home and sacrifice that he would miss out on the delivery of his baby.

The whole Metro Manila was already in complete lockdown at that stage. Millions of Filipino people and their livelihood are affected by the lockdown. Sacrifices have to be made. This virus proves that it equalizes everyone regardless of our status in life. Unfortunately, it is evident that in the Philippines, as always, the rich and powerful have got a better hand even in the midst of this global health crisis. They get prioritized in the COVID-19 testing, even when they are asymptomatic. Hence, the tag #VIPtesting is quite a trend in the Philippines.

And yet, the privileged Senator personally took his wife to the hospital, all the way to the delivery room (he said he didn't go inside the DR, but just stayed in the hallway and sat on a chair, but that's beside the point). Later that night, he received a call from Research Institute for Tropical Medicine (RITM), informing him of the result. He was positive of COVID-19.

I am sorry that he was positive and I pray that he has fully recovered from this for the sake of his family. However, he should have erred on the side of caution by just staying at home and asking someone to accompany his wife to the hospital. This way, he would not have exposed other people, especially his wife and their baby, the doctors and nurses at the hospital, and who knows there could be more. Because of what he did, these medical professionals needed to be quarantined for 14 days. Their expertise and service were very much needed at that time, but for 14 days, they would be unable to give quality care and service to other patients.

This is a very serious matter. A lot of health professionals have been tested positive with the coronavirus and because they are exposed fulfilling their oath to serve the Filipino people every day. A lot of Filipino doctors have already died in the line of duty because of COVID-19.

We all do expect more from the government officials, after all, they are chosen and elected by the people. If the same scenario happened in other countries, the government official in question would resign from his or her post. It is his or her moral obligation to the public. But the sad fact is there are a lot of them in the Philippines that are completely "without delicadeza". (Delicadeza is a term associated with 'honor and integrity'.)

Ignorantia juris non excusat. Ignorance of the law is no excuse. In that Senator's case, he is not ignorant of the law. He is a lawmaker. He should not defend his actions and try to make excuses. He put people's lives at risk by breaching the home quarantine protocols. Up until now, he hasn't really apologised with remorse. He hasn't been charged or penalised when he breached the law, while some other ordinary people have been charged with the same violation.

Enough said.