Abra Vice Governor Ma. Jocelyn Valera-Bernos has been suspended by Malacañang over the unlawful closure of an Abra hospital during the COVID-19 pandemic.
In the decision from the Office of the Deputy Executive Secretary for Legal Affairs (DESLA) of the Office of the President, Bernos was suspended for oppression and abuse of authority, conduct unbecoming of a public official, and disobedience to national government policies.
The charges came from Dr. Voltaire L. Seares, medical director of the Dr. Petronilo Seares Sr. Memorial Hospital in Bangued town, Abra province.
The charges stemmed from when Bernos, governor of Abra during the pandemic, ordered a full lockdown of the said hospital in June of 2020 when a nurse caught COVID-19, including barricading the hospital and placing the entire village under extreme enhanced community quarantine.
According to the complaint by Seares against Bernos, not only did Bernos order the lockdown without basis, she also did so in violation of the Inter-Agency Task Force for the Management of Emerging Infectious Disease (IATF-EID) guidelines. The complaint also claimed that the lockdown, in addition to being premature and in violation of guidelines, were made without the approval of the Cordillera IATF.
Following the investigations of the Department of Interior and Local Government (DILG), the DESLA meted out an 18-month temporary suspension to the vice-governor.
Bernos has, in her response statement, emphasized that the charges against her were dismissed by the Office of the Ombudsman and blamed the suspension on politically motivated attacks on her reputation.
