MANILA, Philippines — Senator Richard Gordon on Friday came to the defense of Senator Aquilino “Koko” Pimentel III who recently came under fire for breaching quarantine protocols.

On Tuesday, Pimentel accompanied his wife at the Makati Medical Center (MMC) for her scheduled cesarean section delivery even though he was supposed to be under self-quarantine for having coronavirus (COVID-19) symptoms as early as March 14.

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While at the hospital, he received a call from the Research Institute of Tropical Medicine (RITM) confirming he is positive for the disease. He then left immediately.

“Kilala ko si Koko. Matinong tao, hindi salbahe yan, ‘di nagaabuso. E ‘wag naman natin pagpiyestahan,” Gordon said in an interview on dzBB on Friday.

(I know Koko. He is a decent person, he is not mean, he is not abusive. Let’s not gang up on him)

“Now is not the time na magsisishan tayo. I think nag-apologize na yung tao. Alam mo bagong kasal yan at may anak siyang na cesarean ang mangyayari,” he added.

(Now is not the time that we blame each another. I think he already apologized. He is newly married and he has a child on the way who will be delivered through a cesarean section).

Nevertheless, Gordon said Pimentel should have set a better example.

“Pero siyempre dapat nag naghinay-hinay na hindi na siya pumasok o nagsabi siya at hindi na siya umikot. Ang daming tao umiikot kayo ng ganyan, hindi lang senador ‘yan,” he said.

(He should have limited his movements and did not go inside and walked around. There’s a lot of people and then you would go around, and I’m not only talking about the senator)

“Pero dapat talaga nagbigay siya ng magandang halimbawa,” he added.

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(But he should have really set a better example)

Once news broke that Pimentel contracted the disease, netizens were quick to call him out saying he violated quarantine protocols when he accompanied his wife to the hospital despite manifesting symptoms.

MMC also denounced what it called Pimentel’s “irresponsible and reckless” actions for breaching the hospital’s infection control protocols.

MMC also slammed Pimentel for violating the strict guidelines of social distancing, quarantine, and hygiene; thus, creating more problems for the rapidly depleting healthcare sector as the pandemic grows.

Pimentel has since apologized to the hospital but maintained he did not intentionally violate quarantine protocols and stressed he did not mean to “do harm on anyone.”

/MUF

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