Lawyer asks DOJ to prosecute Pimentel for allegedly violating quarantine law

April 6, 2020

A lawyer has asked the Department of Justice (DOJ) to prosecute Senator Aquilino Pimentel III for alleged violation of quarantine laws and public health protocols to bring his wife to a Makati Medical Center only to find out later he tested positive for the 2019 coronavirus disease (COVID-19).In his Facebook post, Rico Quicho said he emailed the Department of Justice a letter-complaint against Pimentel  "detailing the clear facts and circumstances that establish his direct violation of RA (Republic Act) No. 11332 and its implementing rules and other DOH regulations."

RA 11332 prohibits the "non-cooperation of persons or entities that should report and/or respond to notifiable diseases or health events of public concern," and the "non-cooperation of persons who have been identified as having the notifiable disease, or those affected by the health event of public concern."

Under this law, the prohibited acts are punishable by a fine of P20,000 to P50,000 and/or one to six months of imprisonment.

“As a lawyer and advocate of the Rule of Law, I cannot in good conscience allow the reckless actions of Senator Koko Pimentel to be brushes aside so easily. He blatantly violated laws, which put the lives and health of frontliners and even ordinary citizens at grave risk,” Quicho said.

Quicho said while Pimentel has admitted his breach “without remorse,” and yet “because of his position, he is still not being made accountable.”

“With this, I hope the DOJ will swiftly act and pursue legal actions against Senator Koko Pimentel. We trust that DOJ will be true to its commitment to the Filipino to uphold the rule of law without fear or favor,” he said.

Justice Secretary Menardo Guevarra saidthe complaint-letter filed by Quicho against Pimentel will be promptly acted upon.

“We’ve been waiting for the filing of this complaint. Now that it has been filed, the  justice department will immediately schedule the preliminary investigation on such date as may be appropriate, considering the current lockdown in Metro Manila,” Guevarra said.

The DOJ preliminary investigation is without prejudice to the separate probe being conducted by the National Bureau of Investigation.The hospital condemned the senator's irresponsible and reckless action.

Pimentel explained that he learned of his COVID-19 test result when he was in the hospital and left "immediately." He has since then apologized. DMS