LEGAL AID. Bacolod City Legal Officer Joselito Bayatan (standing) discusses the concerns of the Emergency Operations Center Task Force on the untruthful data provided by various individuals and the refusal of some Covid-19 positive patients to be placed in isolation facilities, in a meeting with the officers of the Integrated Bar of the Philippines (IBP)-Negros Occidental Chapter last Friday (Sept. 18, 2020). The IBP has committed to provide volunteer lawyers who can be contacted by front-liners for legal advice. (Photo courtesy of Bacolod City PIO)
BACOLOD CITY – The Integrated Bar of the Philippines (IBP)-Negros Occidental Chapter has committed to assist the Bacolod City Emergency Operations Center (EOC) Task Force in the legal aspect of the fight against the coronavirus disease 2019 (Covid-19).
IBP-Negros Occidental president Edmundo Manlapao Jr. said in a statement that they are willing to help the EOC as he enjoined other members of IBP-Negros Occidental to volunteer in giving legal assistance to commissioned personnel.
As of Wednesday, Manlapao’s letter addressed to their members, informing them of his meeting with the Bacolod City Inter-Agency Task Force was posted on the IBP-Negros Occidental Facebook account.
“As our way of contributing to our government’s efforts in stopping the spread of Covid-19, the chapter (now issues the guidelines) for the information and observance of all its members by way of (its) cooperation and participation,” he said.
Manlapao said that the IBP-Negros Occidental Chapter will provide a list of volunteer lawyers and their contact numbers to the City Legal Office to be given to front-liners in-charge of extraction of Covid-19 positive individuals. In case that legal issues arise during the operation, he said authorities may contact any lawyer whose name appears on the list for legal advice.
He urged members whose services have been engaged as private counsel of any Covid-19 positive individual to advise their client to cooperate and submit to the authorities for their client’s own good and also of the general public.
“Members are also dissuaded from recommending any action that may curtail or compromise our government’s efforts in controlling the pandemic,” Manlapao said.
In a meeting with the IBP-Negros Occidental Chapter officials last Friday, City Administrator Em Ang and City Legal Officer Joselito Bayatan discussed the city government’s concerns regarding untruthful data provided in Case Investigation Forms (CIFs) by individuals undergoing swab tests, and the refusal of some Covid-19 positive patients to be placed in city-prescribed quarantine/isolation facilities.
“These make it more difficult for us to contain the spread of infections,” said Ang, executive director of the EOC Task Force.
The distribution and collection of CIFs are part of the data-gathering scheme of the EOC, but they have discovered that some individuals have been dishonest in filling out these forms.
Ang said the city’s front-liners have been confronted with people who refuse to cooperate and even lie about their identity, address, telephone numbers, or health condition.
“They also threaten them with lawsuits or physical harm, and deliberately violate our quarantine procedures and health protocols,” she added.
Ang pointed out that these misrepresentations in the CIFs jeopardize data management, which results in failure in the proper and immediate tracing, extraction, isolation, and treatment protocols for these people and their close contacts.
Data from the City Health Office showed that as of Tuesday night, Bacolod has a total of 3,360 confirmed Covid-19 cases, including 2,125 recoveries, 1,174 active cases, and 61 deaths. (PNA)
