Vice mayor sued over protocol breach
They accused Dao-as of defying health protocols at a control point in Barangay Talaca of Tabuk City
BAGUIO CITY — Three residents, who are also working as front liners in the government’s ongoing battle with the coronavirus disease (COVID-19) filed charges against the second highest official of Tabuk City, Kalinga for alleged abuse of authority and breaching of health and safety protocols.
Charges of abuse of authority resulting to grave misconduct, conduct unbecoming of a public official, discrimination of health care workers, grave coercion and violation of the pertinent provisions of Republic Act (RA) 11469 or the Bayanihan to Heal as One Act of 2020 were slapped against Tabuk City Vice Mayor Bernard Glenn Dao-as before the Office of the Ombudsman on Monday.
Dao-as reportedly started to get angry when Eng-op refused to make an exemption for the BFP personnel on board.
The complainants, identified as Roxanne Dalignoc Eng-op, a job order health worker; Robert Purugganan Bayangan, a casual employee of the City Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Office (CDRRMO); and Rogelio Dulipas Calsiyao, lamented how while they are risking their own safety against the unseen enemy, people expected to be good examples in following guidelines are the ones who exhibit insensitivity and disregard for the rules.
They accused Dao-as of defying health protocols at a control point in Barangay Talaca of Tabuk City after he passed through with another passenger who is a personnel of the Bureau of Fire Protection (BFP) from Bulacan who did not have travel documents. They stated in their affidavit that on June 5, at around 3a.m., a white Fortuner with plate number AAG-8409 arrived at the control point where the driver got off the same and showed them their travel pass and health declaration forms.
The front liner also advised the other occupants of the vehicle to follow checkpoint protocols.
Eng-op, after being told by the driver that there were four passengers in the vehicle, asked for the travel pass of the fourth passenger as only three persons were indicated in the travel pass. She was informed that the fourth passenger is a BFP personnel from Bulacan and an authorized persons outside residence (APOR). She then politely requested for the BFP personnel’s travel documents and had to go to triaging process at the Agbannawag holding area.
The front liner also advised the other occupants of the vehicle to follow checkpoint protocols. She explained to the Vice Mayor the rule for people coming from COVID-19-hot spot areas like Bulacan. Dao-as just removed his mask to show him his face before placing it back.
Dao-as reportedly started to get angry when Eng-op refused to make an exemption for the BFP personnel on board, though Eng-op insisted that they drop off the BFP personnel in Agbannawag for triaging so that the city’s medical personnel can assist her and for her to undergo quarantine. The other front liner, Bayangan claimed before the Ombudsman that he saw the conversation between his colleague at the control point and Dao-as attesting she was never rude in explaining the protocols.
While being escorted to the Agbannawag triage, the three claimed that the Vice Mayor’s vehicle overtook Bayangan’s vehicle and sped off. It did not pass through the triage area as required. After several hours, the BFP personnel was brought to the Agbannawag triage center only after her relatives was contacted by the operations center.
The complainants stated that the vice mayor’s alibi that it was already 3 a.m. and he was very tired and cannot hold water.
On 9 June, Dao-as posted on his official Facebook page about how he was allegedly treated by the front liners at the Talaca control point pointing out abuses that had been committed against him and his companions.
Eng-op,Bayangana nd Calsiyao learned that the BFP personnel was identified as Kiezel Olive Dao-as, female and a relative of the vice mayor whom he reportedly fetched from Bulacan on the way to Tabuk. Eng-op claimed she never forced the vice mayor and his companions to undress, as alleged in the post of Daoas, while at the checkpoint, but what she requested from them is if they had extra shirts to use based on the established checkpoint rules for people to change their clothes in a secluded place in the area.
The complainants stated that the vice mayor’s alibi that it was already 3 a.m. and he was very tired and cannot hold water as what is being enforced are the established checkpoint protocols and that what was only required from them was to drop off the BFP personnel to the Agbannawag triage area because she did not have the required travel pass and health declaration. They added that the BFP personnel on board the vice mayor’s vehicle did not have a mission order or work order and that she was on vacation at that time, thus, she has to go to the protocol of submitting herself for testing and undergo quarantine at the barangay holding area.
Dao-as stood firm that he and his companions were unfairly treated by the trio and they were rude.