Health undersecretary Maria Rosario Vergeire confirmed on Friday, July 17 that the Department of Health (DOH) has formally forwarded “to appropriate authorities” the complaint of private lawyer Rico Quicho against Sen. Koko Pimentel.

DOH formally endorsed the Complaint vs. Sen Pimentel to PNP Chief Gamboa and NBI Dir Distor to undertake investigation for possible violations of RA 11332.

— RICO PAOLO QUICHO (@ricoquicho) July 16, 2020

“We have endorsed it to appropriate authorities such as the NBI [National Bureau of Investigation] and the PNP [Philippine National Police],” said Vergeire.

Even health secretary Francisco Duque III has already acknowledged this allegation against Pimentel on Mar. 26.

Pimentel was accused of violating Republic Act No. 11332 or the Mandatory Reporting of Notifiable Diseases and Health Events of Public Health Concern Act of 2018 when he accompanied his then-pregnant wife to Makati Medical Center on Mar. 24 despite supposedly being under self-quarantine.

He found out he tested positive the same day.

[READ: MakatiMed frontliners may be quarantined after COVID-19 positive Pimentel visit]

Delayed preliminary investigation

Quicho filed the complaint against the senator on Apr. 6. “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 brushed aside so easily,” wrote the lawyer in a Facebook post.

The preliminary investigation was set to happen June 18 but was pushed back to an undetermined date as Quicho has yet to “comply with procedural requirements,” said Prosecutor General Benedicto Malcontento.

Quicho was able to submit all requirements. Pimentel was then given until July 15 to file his counter-affidavit.

Pimentel not a PUI, ‘some were simply VIPs’

In Pimentel’s counter-affidavit, he claimed that he was being charged “based on mere hearsay.” The senator said that the complaint was “falsely defective” as Quicho “lacks personal knowledge” of the incident.

“Atty. Quicho’s reasoning is that since a PUI has to be tested then all those who have been tested are PUIs. He is grossly mistaken,” said Pimentel.

“This is just a statement of fact and I am not praising or endorsing this VIP testing. Hence, what is the inevitable implication of this fact? That not all of those tested for COVID-19 as of March 20, 2020 were PUIs. Some were simply VIPs,” he added.

Based on the standards of DOH by that time, a PUI is someone who has at least two of these qualifications: respiratory signs and symptoms, travel history in the past 14 days and history of exposure.

A resource person at a Senate hearing tested positive for COVID-19. Although Pimentel wasn’t present during that time, he still had exposure to senators who were there. He started showing symptoms on Mar. 14 and took a test on Mar. 20.

Header photo by Lyn Rillon for Inquirer.net

Get more stories like this by subscribing to our weekly newsletter here.

Congrats PH, second for COVID-19 count, first for active cases in Southeast Asia

Angara on COVID-19 crisis: “We need a problem solver and a crisis manager at this point”