BAGUIO CITY – The City Council approved a resolution requesting concerned authorities to strictly implement the pertinent provisions of Ordinance No. 13, series of 2017, the city’s anti-discrimination ordinance.
The resolution authored by all members of the city’s legislative body states that concerned authorities must strictly enforce the aforesaid measure, especially for health workers, to prevent the unscrupulous from discriminating the frontliners that have been attending persons under investigation (PUIs) and confirmed Coronavirus Disease (COVID-19) cases.
The resolution notes that as the number of confirmed COVID-19 cases increase, so do reports of alleged attacks, bullying, physical assaults, and other acts of discrimination not only against infected persons and those under investigation and monitoring but also against the health workers and frontliners charged with the duty of caring for and giving assistance to the said individuals.
City legislators admit that COVID-19 is an emerging disease and health authorities are still learning the full extent of its nature and as they continue to study the properties of the deadly virus, the public must take all necessary steps to immediately contain the spread of the virus and at the same time, care for those who have already been infected or have been possibly infected.
According to the resolution, transparency is necessary to track and trace the contact history of persons infected by COVID-19 to ensure that the health workers can efficiently and effectively response to the present crisis and at the same time contain the virus before it can affect a greater number of the population.
However, the resolution stipulates that COVID-19 patients, PUIs and PUMs are rightfully fearful of stigma and discrimination by people in the community, thus, they are apprehensive to disclose the true extent of their symptoms and contact history to the health authorities that contributes to the risk of transmission, not only to persons they have come in contact with, but also with those to whom they seek medical consultation.
The resolution asserted that the COVID-19 patients must be given a safe space for them to feel they are loved and supported so that they can truly divulge the information needed by the health workers, and so that they do not hesitate to seek medical assistance from the designated care facilities.
In the fight against unforeseen enemy, the City Council claims that the health workers and frontliners are the government’s first line of defense and that they lay the charge in the said battle and yet they are just as vulnerable and susceptible to the disease as the public are.
Under the city’s anti-discrimination ordinance, any person or entity who violates any provision of the same shall be imposed a fine of P1,000 or an imprisonment of 1 -30 days or both upon the discretion of the court for the first offense; a fine of P3,000 or an imprisonment of 1-30 days or both at the discretion of the court for the second offense and a fine of P5,000 or an imprisonment of 1-30 days or both at the discretion of the court for the third offense.
By Dexter A. See
