(Eagle News) – Starting Saturday, March 28, all members of the Presidential Security Group will go under self-quarantine as a precautionary measure against COVID-19 after a lawmaker who recently tested positive for the disease attended a meeting inside Malacanang with President Rodrigo Duterte’s cabinet members.
PSG commander Col. Jesus Durante said that the lockdown only applies to PSG personnel, as he also recommended stricter screening of persons entering the Malacanang complex. Only those with essential official business with the Palace would be allowed entry and only upon passing the more stringent quarantine protocols to avoid a repeat of what happened with Rep. Yap.
The quarantine of all PSG personnel will take effect on Saturday, March 28, until April 10.
“I require all PSG personnel to go on self-quarantine effective 28 March no PSG personnel to go out of Malacanang complex until 10 April,” Col. Durante said.
The Office of the President will just maintain a “skeletal workforce’ who are the only ones “allowed to go to their respective offices within Malacanang complex subject to regular screening procedures,” the PSG chief said.
“The lockdown only applies to PSG personnel,” Durante said, clarifying that Malacanang won’t be under total lockdown, and that only the PSG men won’t be allowed to leave the Palace until April 10.
Earlier, Durante recommended the filing of charges against ACT-CIS Partylist Representative Eric Yap for lying about his condition when he filled up a form in Malacanang that screens guests who might have had been exposed to a COVID-19 case.
Yap claimed that he did not experience coronavirus symptoms, and ticked the “No” box when asked if he had recent exposure to a COVID-19 person.
In later interviews after his admission that he was COVID-19 positive, Yap said that he decided to undergo COVID-19 testing after he learned that he had been exposed to a confirmed COVID-19 case.
Yap attended a meeting in Malacanang on Saturday, March 21, regarding the “Bayanihan To Heal As One Act”. Among those in the meeting are cabinet members of the President, House Speaker Alan Peter Cayetano, Senator Christopher “Bong” Go, and Senate President Vicente “Tito” Sotto III.
