Binibining Pilipinas-International 2017 Mariel De Leon went on social media to make it clear that her father, Christopher de Leon, followed the Department of Health’s guidelines in taking the COVID-19 test.
On her Twitter account, Mariel clarified that her father decided to take the test when his sickness persisted.
“My dad works a lot (events, tapings, shooting) so he’s always exposed to many people. Before he got tested, he was sick and decided to quarantine himself in the house. After it persisted, he decided to go to the doctors to take the test.”
https://twitter.com/honestlymariel/status/1241795444033884165?s=20
Mariel even pointed out that he had to line up and wait for hours before he got swabbed.
“Like everyone else there, he had to wait hours in line because they ran out of tests that morning/afternoon so they had to wait longer. He was more worried for my mom because she is a kidney transplant patient (among other health issues).”
https://twitter.com/honestlymariel/status/1241795537772445708?s=20
Testing for COVID-19 became an issue when several privileged senators took advantage of their status to be able to take the tests.
Last March 14, broadcast journalist Karen Davila could not help but voice her frustration over the politicians who abused their power to get tested given the small number of test kits available.
Nakakagalit. Tumigil na kayong mga pulitiko at staff ninyo na nagpapa-test pa sa bahay pa sa ating DOH surveillance team. Dapat lahat ng pangalan nyo mabunyag sa totoo lang.
— Karen Davila (@iamkarendavila) March 21, 2020
As per Department of Health’s guidelines, only PUIs (Persons Under Investigation) under serious to critical circumstances must be screened for COVID-19.
REMEMBER THESE NAMES. The politicians and their families who got tested for COVID-19 despite being asymptomatic. Meanwhile, hundreds of citizens who exhibit symptoms cannot be tested due to the limited number of testing kits in the country. #FreeMassTestingNOWPH #NOtoVIPTesting pic.twitter.com/uTlKjJRuJn
— Ken (@kennethrmn) March 22, 2020
Asymptomatic patients, on the other hand, are known to be PUMs (Persons Under Monitoring) who do not need to be examined but have a history of exposure and need to undergo 14-day home quarantine.
People are also urging to #NOtoVIPTesting,