Metro Manila (CNN Philippines, January 5) — President Rodrigo Duterte and Justice Secretary Menardo Guevarra disagreed on the liability of the hotel that failed to stop one of its guests from skipping mandatory quarantine protocols.
Duterte believes hotels used as isolation facilities cannot be held liable for breaches in quarantine protocol. He said hotels don’t have the power to prevent travelers who will skip their mandatory quarantine, so he believes it’s not “legally correct” to go after hotel management.
The president added hotels cannot be burdened with such task when it’s supposed to be the job of the government.
“We cannot transfer the power now of even stopping if they would want to, if they would insist to go out. Only government can enforce it and we have not even to the extent of delegating them the powers to stop them physically. So that would be a messy thing to do,” he said in a taped address on Tuesday.
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Justice Secretary Guevarra pointed out that hotel quarantine facilities can be made accountable under the law on mandatory reporting of notifiable diseases.
“There is a provision there on non-cooperation as part of prohibited acts, Mr. President. And it seems to me that non-cooperation on the part of certain entities, which are charged with a duty to respond to the pandemic, may also be punishable,” he replied.
Duterte then asked Guevarra if hotel personnel can physically stop their guests from leaving. The latter answered that the management can enforce ways to ensure only guests with emergencies can exit the hotel when they are supposed to be isolating while waiting for a negative COVID-19 test result.
Gwyneth Anne Chua, who traveled to the US and arrived back in the country on December 22, was able to leave her quarantine room in Berjaya Hotel in Makati City 15 minutes after checking in. She partied in the city’s hip area of Poblacion the same night.
She later tested positive for COVID-19 and infected at least seven of her close contacts. The Criminal Investigation and Detection Group already filed charges against Chua, her parents, personnel of Berjaya, and others for violating health protocols.
The Department of Tourism on Wednesday also suspended the accreditation of and fined Berjaya Hotel for its lapses.
