DAVAO CITY — For a health-conscious woman, a 14-day quarantine to make sure she is coronavirus-free when she meets her lover could be her greatest gift after a long absence.
But, that is not the case of the two women in Sto. Tomas town in Davao del Norte, after they escaped from the facility eve of their release. Worse, their only way out was through the canal to see their lovers who were waiting outside.
Lawyer Elaiza Evangelista-Lapiña, the town’s municipal administrator in an interview with Newsline.ph said the two ladies, one a returning overseas Filipino worker (OFW) while the other one is a locally-stranded individual (LSI).
The investigation of the Inter-Agency Task Force showed that the two ladies escaped from the STCAST Quarantine Facility early evening on Tuesday. The discovery came during the regular roll call.
But hours after they escaped, the police who launched a manhunt operation caught up with them and, thus, were returned back to their custody at around 10:45 in the evening.
The authorities also learned that the OFW went out of the isolation facility on July 20, to see her lover who is also one of the frontliners.
The problem of the other lady has worsened as of today as the wife of her lover came to know the relationship while the manhunt was conducted.
The Penalty
Lapiña said, “We take this matter seriously as both escapees will be meted out with severe penalty under existing laws”.
The Santo Tomas IATF is currently probing the incident of what appears to be a gross breach of protocol intentionally and willfully done by those individuals.
The IATF also agreed to put the lovers of the ladies in 14-day mandatory quarantine.
The two males were placed in isolation facility along with others.
As of Wednesday, July 22, the town has 78 persons in the isolation facility.-Editha Z. Caduaya/Newsline.ph
