AFP chief ready to undergo quarantine if needed

CAMP NAVARRO, Zamboanga City - Amid the backlash created by his visit to peacekeepers from Ebola-stricken Liberia, Armed Forces chief Gen. Gregorio Catapang Jr. said he is willing to undergo quarantine if asked to do so by the Department of Health (DOH). 

Speaking to reporters, Catapang said he is ready to follow whatever recommendation would be made by health officials handling the matter. 

"We want to set the protocol. I was with (acting health) Sec. (Janette) Garin (during the visit) and if she says that we should undergo quarantine, we will follow orders," he said after a meeting with officials of the Western Mindanao Command here. 

Catapang stressed that the visit to the quarantine area in Caballlo Island was meant to assure the public that they should not worry about the Ebola virus. 

Military and health officials visited the 132 peacekeepers in Caballo last Sunday to assure the public that the Ebola virus has not yet reached the Philippines. 

The move, however, was heavily criticized by health experts who noted that the visiting team mingled with the peacekeepers without wearing protective suits.

Critics said Catapang and Garin have broken protocols when they interacted with the peacekeepers even if the three-week quarantine period is not yet finished. They said that the visit could also prod families of peacekeepers to demand access to the quarantine site. 

Sen. Vicente Sotto III, for his part, recommended that Catapang and Garin be placed under quarantine themselves as a precautionary measure. 

Responding to critics, Catapang said no protocol was broken during the visit because it was sanctioned by the DOH. He said the DOH has already explained that Ebola patients could only become contagious when they start to show symptoms.

When asked whether the families of the peacekeepers would be allowed to go to the island, Catapang said it would be up to the DOH to decide on the matter. 

While insisting that there is nothing wrong with his visit to the peacekeepers, Catapang said he is putting on hold his plan to invite the media to the quarantine site. 

"We might add more anxiety and misunderstanding. For the meantime, we will just hold it," the military chief said. 

Catapang, who shook hands with President Aquino last Monday during the defense department's anniversary on Tuesday during the chief executive's send-off to Singapore, said he would not visit Caballo Island without purpose. 

"I might disturb their fishing. I told them I want to hold a contest on autobiography writing, best essay, best poem best photograph. It's like saying it's more fun in Caballo Islands," he said in jest. 

Before they were repatriated, Filipino peacekeepers were declared Ebola-free by United Nations personnel who screened them. 

Despite the negative results, the government decided to isolate the peacekeepers in Caballo Island for 21 days. 

Except for a soldier who experienced fever because of malaria, none of the peacekeepers have displayed symptoms of the virus so far. 

The malaria-stricken peacekeeper has been brought to the Research Institute for Tropical Medicine facility in Alabang and will be transported back to Caballo once the treatment is completed. 

The Ebola virus has infested parts of West Africa and has so far claimed the lives of more than 4,900 people.