PRO-6 clarifies role in visits to COVID patients

By Jennifer P. Rendon

 

Nope. It’s not Oplan Tokhang amid the COVID-19 pandemic.

After getting flak from the public, the PNP has clarified its role in the house-to-house visits on asymptomatic patients which the Department of the Interior and Local Government (DILG) earlier dubbed as Oplan Kalinga.

In a video message, Police Colonel Gilbert Gorero, Police Regional Office (PRO)-6 spokesperson, said the Philippine National Police, particularly the regional office, would not lead the visits to alleged COVID-19 positive patients who are asymptomatic.

“In fact, the role of the police is more of assistance and security,” he said.

Under the plan, in every municipality, component or highly urbanized city, a local government unit (LGU)-based epidemiological surveillance unit will lead the visits.

“Our policemen will only serve as security and, at the same time, will render assistance to the team,” Gorero said.

With the PNP as the support unit, what is the goal of DILG’s Oplan Kalinga?

“This is to avoid the spread of the pandemic, especially in slum areas wherein some of the asymptomatic patients are staying at their houses.”

Gorero cited the Inter-Agency Task Force on Emerging Infectious Diseases (IATF-EID) rule that if there is an asymptomatic patient in a certain house, he or she should have a separate room and lavatory to avoid spreading the virus.

“This is the reason why the surveillance team of Oplan Kalinga was created to make sure that those who are in home quarantine are using the appropriate facility,” he said.

Gorero said the LGU, as the lead agency, will transfer the patients to the proper isolation facility.

“The aim of the DILG is very clear. This is not to violate the constitutional right of every individual but rather to prevent the spread of the virus in our locality,” he said.

On Wednesday, PNP chief General Archie Francisco Gamboa defended earlier plans for state security forces to go house-to-house in search of mild or asymptomatic COVID-19 patients who are under home quarantine.

Gamboa likened the move to finding criminals.

Citing Baguio City Mayor Benjamin Magalong, he said that policemen won’t just be looking for probable or the suspects COVID-19 cases.

Magalong, who used to head the PNP Criminal Investigation and Detection Group (CIDG), was earlier appointed as contact tracing czar.

“It requires cognitive interview or cognitive investigation. Ang purpose kasi nito para kang naghahanap ng kriminal at nahanap mo na yung mga kriminal at hanapin mo rin kung sino ang kakuntsaba nya and these are the skills of the investigators in the PNP kasi sanay sila ng ganun,” Gamboa said.

This approach got flak from the public, dubbing it as Oplan Tokhang, the PNP’s flagship campaign against illegal drugs.

Tokhang came from the words toktok (knock) and hangyo (ask). It means to knock on the doors of alleged drug peddlers and users and urge them to surrender to authorities.

But allegations of summary executions of suspected peddlers and users who surrendered marred the campaign.

He clarified that going house-to-house is just one thing and they would focus on interviews.

On Tuesday, DILG Secretary Eduardo Año said the PNP will be going house-to-house in search of mild or asymptomatic COVID-19 patients who are under home quarantine and transfer them to isolation facilities managed by the government.

But on Wednesday, Año clarified that local health officials would lead in going house to house to search for confirmed COVID-19 cases.