SP PASSES ANTI-COVID-19 DISCRIMINATION ORDINANCE

By: Rhea Matilde A. Ballesteros, GPC–SP | Date: April 7, 2020

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After having received reports on discrimination of patients infected with the Corona Virus Infectious Disease or COVID-19 and medical workers and other frontliners, the 22nd Sangguniang Panlalawigan (SP) during its 41st Regular Session on April 7, 2020 enacted the La Union Anti-COVID-19 Discrimination Ordinance of 2020 under SP Ordinances 216 and 218, 2020.

Under this ordinance, no person, group of persons or entity, shall discriminate through act or utterance which causes stigma, disgrace, shame, humiliation or harassment against medical and non-medical frontliners; persons who tested positive with COVID-19 and their family members, Persons Under Investigation (PUIs), Persons Under Monitoring (PUMs) and recovered patients during national health emergency due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

The ordinance also provides that any public officer who refuses or fails to give assistance to PUIs, PUMs, or persons infected with COVID-19, recovered patients, and frontliners and also persons who spread fake news on PUI, PUM, and persons infected with COVID-19 shall be equally liable.

Consequently, when DOH changed terms for reporting purposes, PUIs and PUMs were then amended under SP Ordinance 218-2020 to Suspected, Probable and Confirmed Cases to be consistent with related guidelines and protocols.

Persons found violating the said ordinance will be fined P2,000.00 while P5,000.00 for heads of offices/agencies or managers of business establishments for the first infraction. For the subsequent infractions, P5,000 fine or imprisonment for a minimum of three months and not to exceed one year at the discretion of the court for both.

The La Union Police Provincial Office, Component Local Government Units through the Municipal/City Police Stations, Municipal Peace and Order and Security Units/Office and other related personnel as deputized by the Local Chief Executive, Punong Barangays, and their respective Peace and Order personnel and/or Barangay Tanods shall strictly implement this policy.

Frontliners are our first line of defense against this dreaded disease. Thus, the least we could do is to accord them with love and respect and not to inflict upon them any act of discrimination.