Quarantine on island for Filipino peacekeepers from Liberia
Health workers carry the body of an old man from his house as he is suspected of dying from the Ebola virus in the Siah Town area on the outskirts of Monrovia, Liberia, on Oct. 31, 2014. The 112 Filipino peacekeepers scheduled for pullout from Liberia will be quarantined on an island when they come home between Nov. 10 and 14, according to Armed Forces of the Philippines Chief of Staff Gregorio Pio Catapang. AP
CLARK FREEPORT, Philippines—The 112 Filipino peacekeepers scheduled for pullout from Ebola-stricken Liberia will get a “well-deserved vacation in an island paradise” when they come home between Nov. 10 and 14, according to Armed Forces of the Philippines (AFP) Chief of Staff Gregorio Pio Catapang.
However, the AFP has yet to name the island where the peacekeepers would be isolated.
The move to grant the soldiers a 21-day holiday came after Catapang canceled on Monday a plan to quarantine them at the Philippine Peacekeeping Operations Center (PKOC) in Capas, Tarlac.
The military camp also hosts the Mechanized Infantry Division and the Training and Doctrine Command.
“While Ebola is not airborne, we do not want to unnecessarily burden the people of Tarlac,”Catapang said when sought for comment on the separate resolutions passed by the Tarlac provincial board and the province’s mayors opposing the plan.
In opposing the use of Capas as a quarantine area, the provincial board and the mayors cited the safety of their constituents, Gov. Victor Yap told the Inquirer by telephone on Monday.
The board and the mayors issued the resolutions a week before the scheduled arrival of the peacekeepers.
President Aquino had ordered their pullout from the West African country due to the Ebola outbreak.
Capas Mayor Antonio Rodriguez confirmed he received an advice from the President about the use of Capas as a quarantine area. Tarlac is Aquino’s home province.
Told of the AFP’s latest decision, Yap said: “I am grateful the national leadership has reconsidered setting up a quarantine system for Ebola here in Tarlac. I am sure they now have a more viable and secure area.”
The AFP has not presented any plan in the event one of the returning soldiers is infected with the Ebola virus. The provincial government has yet to begin a full-scale education campaign on Ebola.–Tonette Orejas
