AFP Chief of Staff Gen. Gregorio Pio Catapang Jr. AP FILE PHOTO
MANILA, Philippines—Armed Forces chief General Gregorio Catapang visited the Manila office of the World Health Organization on Friday to personally thank its staff for supporting his controversial visit to 132 Filipino former UN peacekeepers quarantined on Caballo Island on Manila Bay since their return from Ebola-stricken Liberia.
Catapang handed his “Thank You” letter to WHO senior representatives who briefed him about the Ebola virus during a 30-minute meeting.
Catapang and Health Secretary Janette Garin drew widespread criticism for what their critics said was a breach of the protocol on quarantine.
Catapang and Garin, along with other senior military and health officials, went to the island without special protective gear and mingled with the soldiers, raising fears of possible contamination if any one of the quarantined soldiers turned out to be infected with the virus.
Catapang said that according to WHO officials, the personal protective equipment or special suits were needed only if one were coming in contact with people already exhibiting symptoms of the deadly Ebola disease, such as fever, vomiting, diarrhea and bleeding, among others.
Garin gave the same explanation earlier, but her critics were unconvinced, questioning why, if that were so, there was a need to quarantine the soldiers in the first place if they had no symptoms and could not contaminate anybody.
Catapang said none of the former UN peacekeepers had manifested symptoms of the disease and that a lone soldier who was quickly moved to the Research Institute for Tropical Medicine for isolation after he developed a fever and chills turned out to be suffering from recurrent malaria.
In his letter, Catapang thanked the WHO for issuing a press statement that “supports the DOH and AFP’s action” to visit the former UN peacekeepers on Caballo island, even without any personal protection equipment.
“I would like to express my sincerest appreciation for the clarifying statements your organization has issued officially,” Catapang said. “Rest assured that the AFP will continue to perform its mandated mission with utmost professionalism but not compromising the welfare of others.”
During the meeting, Dr. Megan Counahan, the WHO Ebola expert in the Philippines, assured Catapang that the visit with the peacekeepers was all right.
Counahan said that Ebola is not an “efficient virus” and “could only infect people who get in contact with bodily fluids of sick persons who got the disease.”
“Indeed, like the peacekeepers, I am Ebola-free,” Catapang said, adding he felt relieved by the assurance.
Catapang said he would collaborate with both the WHO and Department of Health in disseminating the correct information about the dreaded disease.
Meanwhile, on Caballo Island, the quarantined soldiers were reported to be engaged in various indoor and outdoor games, song writing, essay writing and photography as part of their daily routine to fight boredom.
The Philippine Navy, which runs the island near the mouth of Manila Bay, said Saturday it would provide a live telecast of Manny Pacquiao’s fight with American boxer Chris Algieri on Sunday.
Catapang said that like many Filipinos around the world, the former peacekeepers were eagerly awaiting the fight.
“He is our idol and inspiration. I hope he will entertain us again this time by mauling his taller opponent,” said Major Gerard Alvaran, an Army officer who served as a UN military observer in Liberia.