PERSONS who have the coronavirus disease (COVID-19) will be penalized if they refuse disclose or lie about personal information that they would provide to health officials, Cabinet Secretary Karlo Nograles said on Monday.
Nograles, concurrent spokesman of the Inter-Agency Task Force or the Management of Emerging Infectious Diseases ((IATF-EID), said the Department of Health is still finalizing the guidelines about the mandatory public disclosure of information of COVID-19 positive patients.
He also clarified that while the policy is for a “mandatory public disclosure,” it only means that the information would be shared by the patient only with the DOH which would serve as the repository on the information on the COVID-19 patients. He said a patient’s privacy would remain protected as guaranteed under Republic Act 11332 or the Mandatory Reporting of Notifiable Diseases and Health Events of Public Health Concern Act.
Nograles said patients must be truthful in giving information to the DOH as the data would be used by government for contact-tracing as part of efforts to curb the spread of the coronavirus.
“This is really a public health concern, we are in a state of calamity and the patients should not lie or give any misinformation or untruthful information. They need to tell the truth, according to the law. So, they cannot refuse to disclose information. That is clear, they cannot say no when they are asked and they need to tell the truth,” he said in a mix of English and Filipino.
Under the law, persons who refuse to cooperate or those who give wrong information in connection with the disease face a fine of P20,000 to 50,000 or imprisonment of one month to six months, or both.
Nograles said the government is intent on conducting more tests to identify those who are positive of the coronavirus and those who had been in contact with the patients to isolate them and treat them.
“We need disclosure of accurate, correct and honest data and information. We need to share the data to those who are supposed to conduct contact tracing for us to be able to identify who are the possible PUIs (persons under investigation), probable/suspected of COVID-19. And also the protection against the stigma,” he said
Nograles said with an expected increase in the number of COVID-positive patients or persons under investigations once the tests are done, the government would need more quarantine facilities.
The 2,673 facilities nationwide have a total bed capacity of 165,756.
He said more quarantine facilities are being identified and are expected to be operational this week, like the Rizal Memorial Stadium and the Ninoy Aquino stadium.
Three party-list lawmakers backed the mandatory disclosure policy, saying the urgency of the need to control the spread of the disease has become an overriding consideration.
Anakalusugan Rep. Michael Defensor said the Department of Health has observed rules to protect human rights of patients and spare them potential public stigma and discrimination but the rapidly rising number of COVID-19 cases is putting the general population at greater risk.
“This situation is different …contact tracing is primordial to stop the spread of the virus. It is also in the patient’s interest to protect his/her family and friends from getting infected,” Defensor said.
AKO-Bicol Rep. Alfredo Garbin said the common good takes precedence over the individual’s rights when the welfare of the general population is at risk.
“Personal rights and liberty should take a backseat if what at stake is public health and public safety. We are dealing with an invisible enemy and contact tracing here is immediate and indispensable,” he said.
Kabayan Rep. Ron Salo said a person’s right to privacy admits exceptions under the law such as waiver by the person concerned or when public welfare so requires “in times of emergencies, including pandemics.”
However, he emphasized that even under such circumstances of involuntary disclosure, there are still limitations in place.
“The means and the manner must only be that which are necessary to achieve a specific purpose. In our case… either to protect the health personnel attending to the patient or to protect the persons most at risk because of exposure to the patient,” Salo said.
He said this means the personal health data of the patient is “not for public consumption” which covers prohibition against publication or broadcast as well as posting on social media. — With Peter Tabingo
