LAOAG CITY – Criminal and administrative charges await a police officer assigned at the Police Regional Office in Ilocos (PRO 1) who violated quarantine protocols when he entered Ilocos Norte with an expired test result for coronavirus disease 2019 (Covid-19).
Col. Christopher Abrahano, Ilocos Norte Police Provincial Office director, reported on Friday that the police officer identified as IN-C67 would be facing charges once he is released from the Mariano Marcos Hospital and Medical Center in Batac City where he is undergoing treatment.
Based on the initial investigation, Abrahano reported that the assigned police officer in La Union returned home to Ilocos Norte to attend church and school events, including a family gathering, despite being advised by his superiors to wait for the release of his swab test result.
The latest swab test result showed that he was positive for Covid-19 and had the most number of close contacts who also contracted the virus.
Based on the latest data from the contact tracing team, it showed that IN-C67 from Barangay Paltit, Badoc, Ilocos Norte has more than 100 close contacts, a record-breaking number of primary contacts among the 98 other cases in the province.
In an earlier interview, Capt. Joseph Tayaban, chief of the Badoc police station and in-charge of the Badoc border checkpoint, said the affidavit of the police officer on duty who interviewed the patient would be used to file charges against him.
Taking responsibility for his officer's misdemeanor, Brig. Gen. Rodolfo Azurin, Jr., PRO 1 director, through Abrahano, apologized to Governor Matthew Joseph Manotoc.
Abrahano likewise appealed for more prudence about the situation of IN-C67 who is still confined at the hospital along with his family members whom he infected too.
“I would like to assure everyone that the PNP will have a thorough investigation on this and let the police officer answer once he will get discharged from the hospital,” Abrahano said. (PNA)
