20-year-old dies of leptospirosis after looking for detained father amid floods and heavy rains
A 20-year-old who was searching for his father amid the heavy rains and floods died due to leptospirosis.
GMA News reported that Dion Angelo Dela Rosa waded through flooded streets in Caloocan for three days as his father, Jayson, didn't return home in Malabon on July 22.
Dion's mother, Jennelyn, said Jayson accompanied one of their children who was going to work.
They got worried as Jayson doesn't usually leave the house without notice. He also didn't bring his phone with him.
On July 25, Dion finally found Jayson, who was detained at the substation for allegedly playing kara y krus, which is considered a form of illegal gambling. Jennelyn said they didn't receive information about Jayson's arrest.
Two days after, Dion had a fever and body aches. He also slept after eating and had a heart attack as a result of his leptospirosis, which is caused by direct contact with urine or ingestion of tissue of infected animals—usually rats and rodents.
The doctor said Dion had a wound in his foot which has developed into an athlete's foot (alipunga) after being exposed to floodwaters.
Jayson, who was released on Aug. 2, denied playing the game. Jennelyn said he may have been a victim of "pangsakto," or the police's alleged means of meeting quota in arrests.
"Tinago ka ng tatlong araw, hindi man lang pinakontak sa pamilya," she said. "Ang sabi niya pinapakontak naman daw sa pamilya, hindi naman kinukuha ang number."
But Romel Caburog, acting chief of Caloocan Police's investigation section, said Jayson immediately informed the arresting officer about reaching out to a loved one.
Caburog also denied that the station hid Jayson or was doing "pangsakto."
'Irony of injustice'
Cardinal Pablo Virgilio David lamented the death of Dion, whom he said also went by Gelo and was an altar server at Señor de Longos Mission Station.
"They had no idea that Gelo’s father had been arrested without a warrant and was detained for allegedly violating PD 1602—accused of engaging in illegal gambling," David said in a Facebook post on Aug. 3.
He noted that the law was passed during the Marcos Sr. administration in 1978, which was "said to be a protection for the poor against the vice of gambling."
"Yet decades later, not a single major gambling lord has been arrested. The poor remain the only victims of this law—just like during the Tokhang days, when quotas on drug suspects became the ticket for promotion," he said.
David then decried the "painful irony" of the poor being charged for playing kara y krus as the country remains "powerless against the biggest operator of the gambling business today through online gambling: the government itself, through PAGCOR."
He pointed out that the government was strict about gambling in the past, not allowing slot machines in supermarkets and crowded places, putting bouncers in casinos to check minors and those who don't earn P50,000 monthly.
"Now, gambling can be accessed on every cellphone. Anyone can gamble in their bedroom, on a jeepney, or in bed—24/7. One can even borrow gambling money from GCash," he said.
David noted that they have released a pastoral letter from the CBCP against online gambling and a few days later, released another pastoral letter for the Diocese of Kalookan about flooding and corruption in public works.
"I did not know that in the tragedy that would befall Gelo’s family, the twin problems of corruption from flooding and gambling would intersect," he said.
Gambling, flood issues
PAGCOR previously ordered the removal of gambling billboards and out-of-home advertisements by Aug. 15 to curb the promotion of the vice.
The agency, however, has since expressed misgivings over an online gambling ban, arguing that revenue collected can be used for the government's socio-civic and national development programs and tourism industry programs, as stipulated in its charter.
Some senators strongly want to ban online gambling, including Joel Villanueva, Migz Zubiri, Raffy Tulfo, and Pia Cayetano. Senators Win Gatchalian and Risa Hontiveros, meanwhile, called for stricter regulations instead.
As regards the flooding, Marcos, in his fourth State of the Nation Address, firmly called out government officials who allegedly commit corruption, particularly in flood control projects.
"Kitang-kita ko na maraming proyekto sa flood control ay palpak," he said. "At 'yung iba, guniguni lang. Huwag na tayo magkunwari, alam naman ng buong madla na nagkakaraket sa mga proyekto."
"Sa mga nakikipagsabwatan upang kunin ang pondo ng bayan at nakawin ang kinabukasan ng ating mga mamamayan, mahiya naman kayo sa inyong mga kapwa Pilipino," he added, to much applause and cheers at the hall.
He ordered the Department of Public Works and Highways to "immediately submit" to him the list of flood control projects from every region that were started and completed in the last three years. He said a project monitoring committee will evaluate this list to determine the failures, as well as the unfinished and ghost projects.
Ultimately, Marcos pointed out that the list will be made public for Filipinos to see.
Sen. Ping Lacson previously told dzBB that since 2011, about P1 trillion allocated for flood control projects may have been lost to corruption.
