Senators Panfilo “Ping” Lacson and Sherwin Gatchalian, Armed Forces of the Philippines Chief of Staff General Andres Centino, and Agriculture Secretary William Dar all confirmed Friday they tested positive for COVID-19.
The Partido Reporma camp of Lacson, who is running for President in the May elections, said they received confirmation that their party’s chairman tested positive for the SARS-CoV-2 virus upon the release of his official RT-PCR test results late Thursday evening.
According to Lacson, he is now feeling much better after experiencing mild symptoms of cough, colds, sore throat, and fever.
But Lacson said he continues to monitor himself on the advice of his doctor, while he remains in isolation at their residence as part of the mandatory quarantine protocols.
“Insofar as his eldest son and chief of staff, Ronald Jay, and other members of their household who also contracted COVID-19 are concerned, we are told they are all recovering from the mild symptoms of the virus. None of the Lacson family had to be hospitalized over this incident,” said Partido Reporma in a statement.
Meanwhile, Gatchalian, who is running for reelection, said: “Following strict health protocols, I went on self-quarantine away from family, friends and the public.”
“So far, I am only experiencing mild symptoms from the virus, and this goes to show that the vaccines are effective and working against it. I enjoin everyone to get your booster shots right away,” the senator said.
In a statement issued Friday, AFP spokesperson Colonel Ramon Zagala said Centino is in an isolation facility in Camp Aguinaldo, where he will continue to perform his duty amid quarantine.
“He remains in full command of the AFP, supervising all units in carrying out their assigned tasks through all allowed and available means,” Zagala added.
Centino reminded military personnel to always observe safety measures and follow health protocols to prevent the spread of COVID-19, according to Zagala.
Meanwhile, in a Twitter post, Dar said he has mild symptoms and is currently recovering while in quarantine.
“I will continue to discharge my duties and responsibilities in the Department of Agriculture,” he said.
Lacson’s party also received information from their officials and other staffs, who came in contact with the senator during their meeting at the Partido Reporma Media Bureau office in Greenhills, San Juan City last Monday, that they have no symptoms and are observing
necessary health protocols as well.
“It really paid off that Sen. Ping is very strict about adhering to safety protocols when we have our meetings. None of us so far have tested positive after our meeting last [January] 3. We are all OK. He is also experiencing only mild symptoms. Thanks to being fully vaccinated,” noted Partido Reporma senatorial candidate Dr. Minguita Padilla, who was present in that meeting.
Still, on the guidance of their leader, Padilla said Partido Reporma is calling on all its members and supporters to take extra precautionary measures now that our nation is facing a new wave of COVID-19 cases again fueled by the highly transmissible Omicron variant.
“We express our concern over reports that major pharmaceutical companies in the country are having a shortage of paracetamol, cough remedies, and other medications that could ease some symptoms associated with coronavirus,” the public health advocate said.
Padilla also believes it is high time for the national government to make COVID-19 antigen testing kits more available to the public. This is to prevent the influx of people lining up at various diagnostic testing centers just to get tested, which could trigger more infections.
According to Partido Reporma treasurer Arnel Ty, demand for these reputable antigen kits also increased and some stocks are running low in the markets. He ordered at least 10 boxes for the party headquarters today due to the elevated level of safety protocols.
“Some antigen testing kits are also going out of stock. 10 boxes arriving today in our HQ. We are consuming five boxes per week,” said Ty.
“We thus encourage the Department of Health (DOH) and the Food and Drugs Administration (FDA) to take swift actions to address this problem.”
“FDA and DOH should give public advisory on which brands of antigen tests are reliable, so that people would no longer line up in testing
centers,” Dr. Padilla stressed. She was informed that many distributors of these antigen testing kits will have their stocks replenished by next week.
“Once again, we appeal to both the public and our national and local government authorities to cooperate with each other amid the ongoing surge of COVID-19 cases in our country. We cannot allow this disease to stop our world again and bring us back to those days of confusion and panic like what happened in 2020. Stay calm and be alert. Let’s take care of one another.”
