THE Digos City Police Station (DCPS) belied the alleged arrest of a nurse who was flagged down by law enforcers after failure to present valid identification, saying the action was merely for verification under the city ordinance.
"The PNP Digos and its men strongly adhere to the guidelines stipulated in Executive Order No. 31 in relation to Covid-19 (coronavirus disease) pandemic, thus, such actions of our Police Officers are just plainly for verification and not apprehension as per accusation stated," DCPS said in a statement issued on May 10.
In a statement posted by the Philippine Nurses Association (PNA) Davao del Sur on May 9 on its official Facebook page, it cited that the PNA Regional Council Davao and PNA Davao del Sur Chapter condemned the act of law enforcers manning checkpoints for not honoring the Professional Regulation Commission (PRC) and employment ID instead of quarantine pass.
The statement further read that their chapter received verified information that a nurse was allegedly apprehended near LYR Building in Rizal Avenue by one of the police enforcers patrolling the vicinity as part of the city-wide "Oplan Patagam."
Based on the information, the nurse and her sister were on board a tricycle when they were flagged down for random checking. The police requested them to present their quarantine passes. The sister of the registered nurse showed her quarantine pass while the nurse presented her PRC and company ID.
Allegedly, the police officer did not honor the IDs of the nurse and asked for a certificate of employment (COE). After a failure to present the needed document, the health worker was brought to Digos City gymnasium via patrol car despite all the explanations to serve two hours of community service for violating the city ordinance.
"On behalf of the Philippine Nurses Association Davao del Sur Chapter, we strongly condemn such an incident and we demand a public apology. We fervently pray that this incident will not happen again not just for nurses but to all health workers as well," PNA Davao Del Sur chapter statement read.
Contrary to the allegation of the PNA Davao del Sur, DCPS explained that during that time, the nurse only showed her PRC license but failed to
show any company ID to support her claim as one of the frontliners and proof that she is practicing her profession.
"The Certificate of Employment (COE) stated was only presented by her sister during the verification of our personnel in charge outside the Digos City Gym and after which, she was released immediately," DCPS said.
Meanwhile, the law enforcer welcomed investigation or dialogue to address the accusation.
"The Digos City PNP is willing to address any complaint to shed light and will answer in the proper forum. Hence, the public is discouraged to use social media in airing their complaints. Rest assured that the PNP Digos and all of the concerned agencies are doing their best to fight and protect the citizens of Digos from this dreaded disease," DCPS said.