Submitted by: BIGAY-PANGHULAN, APRIL ANN S.

Section: JD4B

Legal Opinion
by Atty. Ellen Ernesto-Darilay

Atty. Quarantina Covida went to Metro Manila to attend a hearing in the Regional Trial Court
of Quezon City. She came back to Naga the following day to attend to another court hearing. She
later on attended to a client meeting in her office and grabbed a cup of coffee in her favorite
coffee shop with a close friend. She then went to a laundry shop to have her suit dry cleaned. She
proceeded thereafter to the office of her close friend Atty. Positivo Lockdown who joined her in
walking her dog in the park. To cap her night, she met her boyfriend to have some beer.

 After three days, Atty. Covida started feeling sick. She went to the nearest health facility to have
her swab test taken and was found out to be CoViD Positive. The LGU asked her consent to
divulge her personal information for contact tracing. Atty. Covida despite being a top caliber
lawyer doesn’t know what to do. She went to you and asked for your legal opinion on the
following matters:

a)     Can Atty. Covida refuse to give her consent for disclosure?

LEGAL OPINION:

No. She can’t refuse to give her consent as her cooperation is mandatory under the law.

Under Section 6(a) of Republic Act (RA) 11332 or the Mandatory Reporting of Notifiable
Diseases and Health Events of Public Health Concern Act, the Department of Health (DOH) and
its local counterparts are mandated to implement the mandatory reporting of notifiable diseases
and health events of public health concern. Section (9) (e) of the same law penalizes non-
cooperation of the person or entities identified as having the notifiable disease, or affected by the
health event of public concern.

Moreover, DOH Administrative Order No. 2020-12 classified COVID-19 as a notifiable disease.
As such, the DOH has the statutory authority to mandatorily report her name under Section (6)
(e) (2) of the abovementioned law.

Disclosure of her name is necessary to implement the procedures in addressing the public health
concern on Covid 19, such as contact tracing and risk assessment and other preventive measures
and her non-cooperation for having contracted the notifiable disease is a prohibited act.

Hence, since Atty. Covida is required to cooperate, she cannot refuse to give her consent as it
will be used for public health concern purposes.

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Submitted by: BIGAY-PANGHULAN, APRIL ANN S.
Section: JD4B

b)     Can the LGU release the name of Atty. Covida without her permission?

LEGAL OPINION:

Yes. The local government unit (LGU) can disclose her name without her permission only for
public health concern purposes and upon the issuance of a legal order by court of law.

Although RA 11332 permits the mandatory reporting of notifiable diseases by the DOH and its
local counterparts, Section 6(d) provides that the dissemination of information from official
disease surveillance and response systems may only be used only for public health concern
purposes to be exempt in the provision of Data Privacy Act on accessibility of data.

In addition, Section 9 of the law provides that disclosure of confidential information is allowed if
the disclosure was made to comply with a legal order issued by a court of law with competent
jurisdiction

In sum, the release of her name without her permission may only be done if the following
requisites are met:

1. If it will be used for health concern purposes only to be exempt from the provision on
Data Privacy Act; and
2. If the disclosure was made to comply with a legal order by a court of law with competent
jurisdiction.

Hence, the LGU may release her name if the foregoing requisites are complied with.

c)     Has she violated any law?

LEGAL OPINION:

No. She has not violated any law as regards her movements after travelling to Manila.

The prohibited act of non-cooperation contemplated under Section 9(e) of RA 11332 pertains to
those already identified as having the notifiable disease or affected by such. At the moment she
moved around the city after travelling to Manila, she was not diagnosed yet as having been
infected of Covid-19.

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Submitted by: BIGAY-PANGHULAN, APRIL ANN S.
Section: JD4B

Moreover, there is no existing law requiring the mandatory quarantine of individuals with travel
history.

Hence, Atty. Covida has not violated any law but may be held liable if there are existing
guidelines or ordinance imposed within the LGU regarding self-isolation and other quarantine
protocols.

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