Employees of the Philippine General Hospital (PGH) criticized the misleading article released by the Philippine News Agency (PNA) posted on March 24 regarding the mass testing of health workers in the national university hospital.
Many people, doctors and teachers of UP Manila PGH included, branded the article as “fake news.”
Dr. John Edward Tanchuco, a Medical Officer III at PGH, was outraged by the government news wire’s news article. He did not mince words in his Facebook account post:
“FAKE NEWS PO! This was constructed to shape public opinion. OBVIOUSLY with the shutdown of major private hospitals and this headline, claiming we have all been tested, PUIs and COVID patients would go to us because its “safe”.
NO COVID-19 TESTING WAS DONE WITH ALL OF US IN UP-PGH (we wouldn’t be that selfish or self-centered, obviously)
NAKAKAGALIT ANG GOBYERNONG ITO”
FAKE NEWS PO! This was constructed to shape public opinion. OBVIOUSLY with the shutdown of major private hospitals and…
Geplaatst door Jhn Tnchc op Dinsdag 24 maart 2020
The faculty union of UP Manila said they “strongly condemn in no uncertain terms the malicious efforts of the Philippine News Agency in purveying an alleged news article on the [PGH].”
“It insinuates that the hospital’s workforce had been tested and found negative of the disease, which is not true.” said the All UP Academic Employees Union – Manila in a statement.
The Philippine News Agency later clarified that the article was based on a “virtual press briefing” held at the Department of Health Monday, March 23, 2020.
The article, with the headline “PGH health workers test negative for Covid-19,” has since been updated to “Close to 100 PUI-health workers of PGH negative of Covid-19.”
However, according to those who objected to PNA’s article, not even the 100 PUIs were tested. Only those with severe symptoms were tested.
Further, the PNA still did not correct its erroneous report.
The lead of the PNA article read as: “None of the Philippine General Hospital (PGH) employees who were persons under investigation (PUIs) have been found positive for the coronavirus disease 2019 (Covid-19), a hospital official reported.”
It no longer stated anyone being tested but “none have been found positive.”
“At a time when the infodemic (or the spread of false information) is spreading alongside COVID-19, this latest display of how a government agency can be so cavalier in spreading false and unverified information does not help any,” the faculty union statement continued.
Cover for VIP testing?
UP Manila University Student Council Treasurer and Tulong Kabataan UP Manila organizer Habagat Farrales said the article created “a false impression that the health workers of PGH are being prioritized or provided with what they need, while these are not being provided to other health workers.”
Farrales pointed out that the article came on the heels of the VIP testing controversy hounding the government for more than a week.
Politicians, their spouses, or entire family and staff were revealed to have been tested despite not qualifying in the Department of Health (DOH) triage or testing protocol. Only Persons Under Investigation (PUIs) with severe symptoms or those with mild symptoms who are elderly or with complications were to be tested.
Among “VIPs” tested were the family of President Rodrigo Duterte, senators, Cabinet officials and some congressmen such as Rep. Eric Yap who announced he tested positive on March 25.
DOH explained that the guidelines were different when the politicians were tested when they fell within the qualification of being exposed to a person who tested positive. Senator Sherwin Gatchalian informed the media on March 11 that one of the resource persons during the March 5 hearing of the Senate committee on basic education tested positive. This prompted some senators to go on self-quarantine. It was later revealed that most of them got tested.
DOH Secretary Francisco Duque III maintained today there was no VIP testing and that the policy is “first in, first out,” despite the confirmation of the politicians who got tested without symptoms or just recently. Atty. Liza Marcos, wife of former Senator Bongbong Marcos III, announced today that their family and entire staff got tested the day before and got the results the following day.
The article was also posted amidst calls to implement mass testing to identify COVID-19 cases. Despite widespread calls, the DOH and the Inter-Agency Task Force on Emerging Infectious Diseases (IATF) still stood that mass testing is not needed “because we are not capable of doing it.” By March 26, 4pm, the country has 2,147 “tests conducted” according to the DOH NCOVTracker since January.
“We wonder what the IATF and [Philippine National Police] will do with the government’s own news wire spreading fake news?” asked Farrales.
IATF, PNP strong words and serious punishment for fake news
The Philippine National Police (PNP) announced today that they have filed criminal charges against four individuals for allegedly sharing false information on social media on COVID-19 which caused panic. All four suspects face charges of violating the Anti-Cybercrime Law.
PNP Spokesperson B.Gen. Bernard Banac warned the public that, “the PNP is dead serious to continue to take countermeasures against misinformation through cyber patrol operations and monitoring on all social media platforms.”
PNP Chief Gen. Archie Gamboa said on March 20 that they will go after fake news purveyors.
“Huwag niyo kaming subukan at hahabulin namin kayo,” he said.
[Don’t try us because we will go after you.]
The “Bayanihan to Heal As One Act” that granted Duterte additional powers to address the COVID-19 crisis contained a “fake news provision” that punishes those who create or spread false information about the COVID-19 crisis with a two-month jail sentence or a fine of P10,000 to P1 million. Media groups raised alarm over this provision in the law signed on March 25.
In February, Department of Interior and Local Government (DILG) Secretary Eduardo Año ordered the PNP to arrest persons responsible for spreading on various social media platforms fake news on COVID-19.
Violators may face imprisonment of one to six months and a fine ranging from P40,000 to P200,000 under the “Unlawful Use of Means of Publication and Unlawful Utterances” of the Revised Penal Code punishes perpetrators of fake news, said another official of DILG.
Fake news purveyors will also be punished under the Cybercrime Prevention Act of 2012 and the Presidential Decree No. 90 or the Declaring Unlawful Rumor-Mongering and Spreading False Information.
“Even the president made some misleading statements about the virus that could cause people to panic,” averred Farrales.
He referred to Duterte saying the novel coronavirus is airborne during his announcement on March 15 placing Luzon under total lockdown.
However, the World Health Organization and other medical experts said the virus is generally spread through respiratory droplets in the air. This is also why the public is being made to observe a one-meter social or physical distancing to avoid respiratory droplets from anyone sneezing or coughing.
DOH would later clarify that people could catch COVID-19 through the air or via airborne transmission if they are in a confined hospital setting.
Tumahimik na si Mocha Uson pero marami pa rin fake news ang lumalabas mula sa gobyerno ???
OUST DUTERTE !!!
Even if were not tested, my position is They should be tested because they are frontliners and are invaluable abd more importantly irreplaceable. The ones who should not have been tested are those useless politicians.