A local chief executive of General Trias, Cavite ordered the probe into the death of an alleged quarantine violator who died after being ordered to do pumping exercise last Saturday.
The alleged quarantine violator identified as Darren Manaog Peñaredondo was forced to do 300 rounds of a pumping exercise as punishment over quarantine violations, according to the post of his cousin.
In the post which was shared on April 4, the victim’s cousin Adrian Luceña recounted that Peñaredondo was apprehended last Thursday, after he went out to buy water past curfew in a village in General Trias.
As a punishment, Peñaredondo and other alleged violators were ordered to do pumping exercise.
The exercise was supposed to be 100 rounds only, said Luceña. However, the police told them to move in sync and they ended up doing 300 of it.
Luceña claimed Peñaredondo’s condition worsened after he went home at 8 a.m. until he passed away Saturday.
“Umuwi po siya ng Friday ng 8 a.m. ng umaga hindi na sya makalakad ng maayos..(crying emojis) Tapos sabado ng madaling araw nag-comvulsion siya na-revive pa namin siya sa bahay…(lonely emoji) Sinumpong ulet siya na-revive ulet kaya lang comatose na siya (crying emoji). Hanggang ngayong 10 p.m. wala na,” Luceña wrote in a Facebook post.
Peñaredondo’s live-in partner managed to document her partner before he passed away.
This clip was picked up by GMA News and released it on YouTube and other social media platforms.
In the video, Peñaredondo can be seen struggling and was in pain in stairs.
The death of the alleged quarantine violator reached General Trias Mayor Antonio Ferrer, who then ordered an investigation.
“Kaugnay sa di inaaasahang pagpanaw ni G. Darren Manaog Peñaredondo, inatasan natin agad ang Hepe ng ating kapulisan na magsagawa ng patas na imbestigasyon tungkol sa insidente ng paghuli at sa di-umaano’y pagpapahirap sa kanya,” Ferrer said.
The mayor said he reached out to the Peñaredondo’s family and offered condolences.
“Tayo po ay personal na nakipag ugnayan sa pamilya ni G. Peñaredondo upang makiramay at tumulong sa kanilang pangangailangan,” Ferrer said.
“Hanggad po natin ang agarang pagkakaroon ng kalinawan sa mga pangyayari at mabigyan ng kapayapaan ng isipan at kalooban ang pamilya Peñaredondo,” he added.
The General Trias Police, however, denied allegations that such punishment was meted out to Peñaredondo and other alleged quarantine violators.
“So sa claim po na pumping, wala po kaming binibigay na ganoong punishment sa kanila. Instead, we’re conducting lectures po,” General Trias police chief Police Lieutenant Colonel Marlo Nillo Solero said in an interview with Rappler.
This incident later reached international publications The Guardian and BBC News World.
The Guardian’s report was titled “Philippines man dies ‘after doing 300 squats for breaching Covid curfew.’”
The BBC News World report, meanwhile, bears the headline “Covid rule-breaker ‘dies after exercise punishment.’”