If OIC DOH Secretary Garin won't resign, she must at least, if she's a responsible public servant, have herself quarantined, and also those people who were with her (meaning Gen. Pio Catapang too) visiting the troops in Caballo Islands. AND, even those people who were exposed to them AFTER the Caballo visit must also be subjected to the quarantine protocols as prescribed by the Research Institute for Tropical Medicine (RITM). I don't think it's true that "the troops didn't show any symptoms". Remember, 1 of those soldiers DID SHOW EBOLA-LIKE/FLU-LIKE SYMPTOMS, days before GArin's and Catapang's visit. However, DOH people, giving the situation a twist (aka cavalier attitude) they're simply saying that it MIGHT simply be a case of Malaria. "Might" be, meaning also NOT totally RULING OUT EBOLA for that said soldier (and I sincerely hope that it really isn't the case). And the fact that the other members of the contingent were exposed to the said soldier, thus also make them possible carriers of Ebola infection.
It's a no-brainer that if countries like the U.S., U.K., etc. are wary, or even leery, of the possibilities of Ebola infection, when they're much more equipped to handle Ebola, so much much more must we. And so much more must one be when she happens to be THE COUNTRY'S NUMBER 1 PUBLIC HEALTH AUTHORITY, the SECRETARY OF HEALTH (albeit, still OIC).
If Gen. Catapang, true to his family name, showed the bravery to own up to his lapse, and is willing to be quarantined, so must OIC DOH Sec. Garin, being herself a PHYSICIAN who must know the REAL DANGERS of EBOLA INFECTION and of the QUARANTINE PROTOCOLS, own up to her lapse, and at the very least have herself quarantined for at least the next 21 days.
Sec. Garin, in the name of saving the lives of women valiantly stood for the RH Law. Now, not only for the sake of saving lives of women, BUT OF WOMEN, MEN, CHILDREN, EVERYONE, will she be valiant enough to own up to, be responsible for her faux pas, re EBOLA VIRUS? Would she be willing to step down from her position (SUPPOSEDLY ONE OF PUBLIC TRUST), even just temporarily (for the whole length of quarantine), or maybe better, permanently? ALL FOR THE SAKE OF REAL LIFE-AND-DEATH MATTER of PUBLIC HEALTH & SAFETY.
Truth is, I sincerely hope and pray that indeed our troops in Caballo, OIC DOH Sec. Garin, Gen. Catapang, and all those others exposed to them will eventually be TOTALLY NEGATIVE of Ebola infection. For their sake, and for the country's sake. BUT, for the meantime, RESPONSIBILITY & ACCOUNTABILITY, and not self-love, must be paramount.
