Philippines President Rodrigo Duterte claimed in a late night address that Ormoc City Mayor Richard Gomez said he would not accept anyone returning from elsewhere to enter the city.
Read more, The President says in a late night address that Ormoc City Mayor Richard Gomez would not accept returning residents in Ormoc City. Gomez never said this., , "RELIEF OPERATIONS. Ormoc City Mayor Richard Gomez talks to personnel working in relief operations. Photo from Richard Gomezs Facebook", Claim: On Thursday, May 28, President Rodrigo Duterte claimed in a late night address that Ormoc City Mayor Richard Gomez said he would not accept anyone returning from elsewhere to enter the city., Duterte said: “I do not have any quarrel with Richard Gomez, he was the one who said he is not going to accept anybody from entering or, for that matter, leaving the place...that’s okay, it’s part of maybe the vigilance that a person nurtures in his heart on how to do it.” He added: "But you know, there are also constitutional issues involved and those are sacred ones. And for those who are not really pronounced to be infected positive, there’s no reason why you should not accept them, especially those who are returning to their homes from doing work abroad. Kawawa naman kasi (You should have pity on them). There\s a constitutional right, there’s no really reason why you should not accept them with open arms. I think this has been understood by everybody, unless, for one, if you are positive you can stay where the government has to provide for the hospitalization.” Gomez agreed in a Facebook post made on Thursday, May 28: "To be clear: Returnees have a constitutional right to come home but health protocols are in place because public health must be upheld and safeguarded even and especially as we do that., Meaning, there are ways to satisfy both if everyone is in sync and protocols are set in place and observed.", Rating: FALSEThe facts: Gomez made his first statement on the lack of coordination from the agencies in charge of the Balik Probinsya program on Monday, May 25., DILG, NHA, OWWA, what happened to all the protocols that you guys are trying to formulate for returning residents?!!! \nI..., "DILG, NHA, OWWA, what happened to all the protocols that you guys are trying to formulate for returning residents?!!!" the Ormoc City mayor said in his Facebook post., "Imagine sending people without names or incomplete documents or no documents at all and telling us to accept them? What confirmations do we have that they are from here? It\s possible that they left Manila without testing," Gomez said., Gomez only complained about the national government’s lack of coordination with the local government and did not say he was going to refuse the returning residents., He made a follow-up post on his official page, saying that the national government gave the LGU a belated heads up – only as the repatriates were arriving., I was watching the interview of Sec. Panelo and reading the interview of Sec. Año in Rappler about the confusion that..., On May 28, it was discovered that two returning residents who were part of the Balik Probinsya program tested positive in Baybay City and Tanauan Leyte.These are also the first confirmed coronavirus cases in either of the towns. – Rappler.com, These stories made other people, Welcome to Rappler, a social news network where stories inspire community engagement and digitally fuelled actions for social change. Rappler comes from the root words "rap" (to discuss) + "ripple" (to make waves)., Read more, Email:, Password:, Thank You.\n\nView your profile page\nhere OR\nClick close to continue., Fields with * are required., Email*:, Password*:, First Name:, Last Name:, Birthday:, Gender:, "Ive read the Rappler privacy statement, site use policy, comment moderation policy", Fields with * are required., Thank You.You have successfully updated your account.
FALSE: Richard Gomez won’t accept returnees to Ormoc City