- Sen. Koko Pimentel confirmed he is positive for COVID-19.
- Makati Medical Center denounced Pimentel’s breach of protocol.
Senator Koko Pimentel has been receiving the rage of netizens after news of him going to the Makati Medical Center despite being COVID-19- positive has gone viral.
Pimentel on Wednesday, March 25, confirmed that he was positive for COVID-19.
He is the second senator to come out positive of the disease following Sen. Migz Zubiri.
“I was informed late last night March 24, 2020 that I have tested positive for the COVID-19 virus. The swab was taken last Friday, March 20, 2020,” said Pimentel in a statement.
How irresponsible, selfish and evil.
You were tested bec you MAY have the virus and YET YOU DIDN’T QUARANTINE YOURSELF? You exposed your wife, your baby, the doctors and nurses at MMC and all the mothers in the delivery room. Maybe even other parts of the hospital! NAKAKAGALIT! https://t.co/sbL66ELk6p
— E (@MadamHiddles) March 25, 2020
https://twitter.com/kipoebanda/status/1242703223628025856
https://twitter.com/TheRainBro/status/1242716094625796097
Meanwhile, in defense of breaking his quarantine period, Pimentel said he was on home quarantine for 10 days already. He still didn’t know that he was positive when he accompanied his wife to the hospital for her scheduled delivery.
It was when they were in the hospital that he received a call from the RITM (Research Institute for Tropical Medicine) informing him that his test came out positive. The senator insisted that he immediately left the hospital upon hearing the news and that he left his wife there alone.
Pimentel confirms he was with his pregnant wife before receiving confirmation that he tested positive for #COVID19: Yes [I was with her] as she was sked to give birth this morning. I received the call fr RITM when I was already in the hospital last night hence I left immediately.
— ABS-CBN News Channel (@ANCALERTS) March 25, 2020
But several posts on social media said that he entered the MMC delivery room with the wife exposing doctors and nurses there.
Then they suddenly canceled the delivery (via c-section) and that was the time that the senator left the hospital.
https://twitter.com/pawawawofficial/status/1242694960786227200
https://twitter.com/alaindeocampo_/status/1242713855777583104
Even the Makati Medical Center through their official statement confirmed that Pimentel went to the delivery room and risked the health of their medical personnel and patients.
Sharing the statement from our medical director on the incident involving Senator Koko Pimentel. We denounce what he did. pic.twitter.com/uIMVjkpmKW
— Dr. Gia Sison (@giasison) March 25, 2020
Celebrities and social media personalities have also blasted Pimentel’s utter recklessness which exposed so many people to danger.
Singer-actress Agot Isidro slammed Pimentel for endangering the lives of doctors, nurses, and other patients in the hospital for his recklessness.
You had yourself tested, you broke quarantine guidelines, you visited a hospital, risking the health of the many doctors and nurses and patients there…
Hindi mo nakuha yung memo ni influencer, no??? 😡
Di nag-iisip eh. Reckless endangerment yan di ba? 😡😡😡
— Agot Isidro (@agot_isidro) March 25, 2020
Political columnist Gideon Lasco meanwhile urged the senator to apologize and resign because of the shame and disgrace he brought to the sente.
Koko Pimentel's actions have disgraced the Senate, violated the government's own directives, and endangered other people's lives.
Such careless and arrogant behavior is more dangerous than any virus. I join calls for him to apologize and immediately resign.
— Gideon Lasco (@gideonlasco) March 25, 2020
GMA Network resident political analyst Richard Heydarian said it’s not surprising given the Senator is an ally of the administration. The VIP treatment in the testing and now privilege in breaking the quarantine will go unnoticed again by the palace.
So a staunch DUTERTE ALLY, a SENATOR of the REPUBLIC, has RECKLESSLY placed SELF INTEREST above that of DOCTIRS, NURSES and FRONTLINERS by violating his mandated QUARANTINE. In our VIP SOCIETY, why are we surprised?
— Richard Heydarian (@Richeydarian) March 25, 2020
IMAGINE the reaction IF an OPPOSITION Senator or figure did ANY of this KABABABALGHAN! But no… since TATAY’s ALLY, this will also go unpunished! This IMPUNITY is getting tiring…is there any hope?
— Richard Heydarian (@Richeydarian) March 25, 2020
Other social media influencers like Gang Badoy, Teddy Casino, Tonyo Cruz, and Emil Maranon meanwhile shared the same sentiments that being bar top notcher (referring to PImentel) doesn’t make one immune from stupidity.
Senator + bodyguards + driver + guard of bldg +kasama sa bahay + families of all mentioned. Wala pa – wife baby OR team, nurses, ob gyne, lab techs, guards of hospitals, interns -who in turn check PUIs, hospital commissary cooks. All you needed was 2 minutes to think, topnotcher.
— Gang Capati 🇵🇭 (@gangbadoy) March 25, 2020
You can be a bar topnotcher and a senator, even a senate president, but you can still be stupid.
— Teddy Casiño (@teddycasino) March 25, 2020
This tweet didn't age well, and has come back to haunt the senator. https://t.co/IV739TT6pF
— Tonyo Cruz (@tonyocruz) March 25, 2020
By escaping his quarantine, Senator Koko Pimentel exposed 3 doctors, 3 nurses and possibly the whole hospital unit. In turn, they could have unwittingly infected their patients and family members and the chain of transmission could have went on.
Yes, stupidity kills.
— Emil (@13thFool) March 25, 2020
Here are other raging sentiments of the netizens against Sen. Koko Pimentel’s irresponsible and reckless actions.
So PUI Senator Koko Pimentel accompanied his wife to the Delivery Room last night because she was scheduled to give birth this morning. RITM called him that he tested positive for Covid-19. Sorry, he went to the delivery room KNOWING HE COULD HAVE COVID-19?
— Mai Dionisio (@mymai_d) March 25, 2020
Let me give Koko Pimentel some unsolicited advice. The bigger the stupidity the higher the likelihood that the denial and cover up will not succeed. I suggest you apologize and then donate a large amount of money to the hospital.
— Sylvia Claudio (@seclaudio) March 25, 2020
https://twitter.com/_ladymariel/status/1242686864399597568
Isang putanginang tanga si Koko Pimentel.
Matagal nang nilabas ng DOH at WHO yung guidelines pag nagpapakita ka ng sintomas.
Nakakahiya ka, Koko Pimentel. Mag-resign ka na.
— omcm machine (@grebgrad) March 25, 2020
Di ko makuha ung sense na he is already experiencing symptoms for Covid but elected to go to the hospital, go to the delivery room putting at risk his wife, child, all the babies, patients, and our frontliners. Guys this is one of our senators. Shame on you
— Econ_major (@hcelizalde13) March 25, 2020
Dear Koko Pimentel,
If you were asymptomatic, why were you tested? If you were symptomatic, why were you walking around in the hospital with your pregnant wife and not observing home quarantine like the rest of PUIs?
Either sobrang kapal mo or sobrang pasaway.
Could be both.
— Sheng Datukon (@thecatbarked) March 25, 2020
Koko Pimentel hands down is a very very entitled selfish narcissist .
This is what happened inMakati Med . 👇 pic.twitter.com/RKWbmSDHZp
— KATH 🐘 (@1andonlyKathy) March 25, 2020
https://twitter.com/ayabellsmd/status/1242718766883950592
https://twitter.com/swikey/status/1242697906718568448
