The Provincial Legal Office is preparing to file charges for falsification of public documents and violation of health protocols against five returning overseas Filipinos (ROFs) for false declarations on their return to Negros Occidental, Provincial Administrator Rayfrando Diaz said today, January 26.
“It is a clear directive of Gov. Bong (Eugenio Jose) Lacson and it’s now in the hands of the legal office. We are waiting for their documents…if we find that it’s worthy of filling in court or before the prosecutor’s office then we will file it,” he said.
Those facing possible charges are a couple and their son from Pontevedra who arrived from London and a Sagay resident from Saudi Arabia who listed themselves as locally stranded individuals (LSIs) and not ROFs in their documents on their return to the province, he said.
Also expected to face charges is a Cadiz City resident from Turkey who did not undergo quarantine in Manila and falsified his quarantine certificate, Diaz added.
The Sangguniang Panlalawigan will also be asked to authorize the filing of the cases, he said
The Pontevedra couple tested positive for COVID-19 twice since their return to Negros Occidental and samples taken from them have been sent to the Philippine Genome Center to determine if they have the UK variant of the virus.
The Negros Occidental provincial government has informed the national Inter-Agency Task Force (NIATF) on Emerging Infectious Diseases officials that this is happening so they can plug the gap so it will not happen again in the future, Diaz said.*