Some medical frontliners fired back at actress Angelica Panganiban who aired her frustration at Philippine Red Cross in Subic over an issue concerning swab tests.
The 34-year-old actress on Tuesday took to Twitter to share her experience while waiting to be attended to by the organization’s staff.
“Isang oras na kami sa dito sa parking area niyo. Nakaalis na din mga nakasabay namin. At inuna niyo pa ‘yung ibang bagong dating. Okay lang naman kung palakasan đ tweet ko na lang,” she claimed.
Angelica later on tweeted another experience she had with the organization the last time she had a swab test for COVID-19 detection.
“Nung huling beses ako nagpa-swab sa Red Cross, muntik akong mabaliw. Nagpadala sila ng e-mail na positive ako sa covid. Pero ‘yung attachment result, negative ako. Ginawa nila ‘yun sa buong Olongapo, guys. Nag-sorry naman sila after 12 hours,” she claimed.
The actress’ tweets caught the attention of some healthcare workers who shared their own reactions following her viral posts.
A Twitter user who identified himself as a swabber said that the actress should be “grateful” that she and her companion were able to queue without experiencing the heat in the waiting area.
“Be grateful na lang sana na na-iswab ‘yung kasama mo maâam, without queueing at maramdaman ‘yung init sa tent while waiting for their turn. May appointment lahat ng nagpa-swab today, and hopefully kayo rin para valid âtong rant mo, maâam,” user @iammarkyy_ wrote.
“People who were swabbed before you sa parking, (were) actually (ill) and ‘yung isa nga ambulansya pa eh. ‘Di mo ba kita, maâam? Ang pagiging artista maâam ‘di kasama sa priority list, yet, lumabas ako to swab ‘yung kasama niyo,” he added.
The swabber advised the actress to book an appointment, arrive early on the site and then fall in line as part of the protocols.
“Next time punta kayo maaga, weâre open at 9AM, make sure may appointment kayo and better pila kayo so that malaman niyo na ‘di lang kayo ang client namin. Mas nakakapagod palang lumabas sa tirik ng araw to swab such artists tapos more rant lang,” he added and then accompanied his tweet with a picture taken with the actress.
Next time punta kayo maaga, weâre open at 9AM, make sure may appointment kayo and better pila kayo so that malaman nyo na di lang kayo ang client namin. Mas nakakapagod palang lumabas sa tirik ng araw to swab such artists tapos more rant lang. Kala ko pa naman happy ka dito o.đ pic.twitter.com/gq7PH98MUC
— MARK (@iammarkyy_) May 25, 2021
“Photo taken before pa. Ginamit ko lang para alam din ng iba na youâre too [privileged] to rant about our service,” user @iammarkyy_ wrote.
Twitter user @ercg, who identifies as a medical doctor, suggested that the actress should personally ask why they were not called by the staff yet. The doctor added that Red Cross Subic is “one of the reliable molecular labs” in Zambales.
“A lot of us depend on them to give us timely results for our patients. ‘Wag kasi sa socmed (social media) dinadaan,” she wrote.
“Huwag gamitin ang celebrity status para siraan ang isang unit na nagta-trabaho naman at nakakatulong sa madla. Kung may ‘palakasan’, you can make a formal complaint thru letter or kausapin mo ang person in-charge there. That’s how we do it,” the doctor added.
In another tweet, the doctor said that there is no “palakasan” but an practice of “triaging.”
“In the medical world kasi, we exercise prioritization. It is called Triaging. It’s a balancing act: Clinical + Practicality vs Compassion + Passion. IQ must go hand in hand with EQ & SQ,” the doctor said.
“Not really palakasan kasi you gathered, ah, this patient will undergo dialysis, ah, this patient is waiting for the PCR result so he can be admitted, ah, this patient will undergo a procedure VS asymptomatic patients who finished his quarantine kaya need PCR to go back to work..” she explained.
A healthcare worker on Facebook shared that the PRC staff were even “lenient” to Angelica as they accommodated her even without having a schedule of appointment.
“You need to take into consideration what’s really happening inside the swabbing facility. Naging lenient naman po kami sa inyo na kahit ‘di kayo naka-sched ngayon, siningit pa rin kayo. At isa pa, di po porket drive thru eh priority na agad kayo. Paano naman po ‘yung mga nauna sa inyo at nakapila sa tent sa gitna ng init ng araw?” he wrote.
“Hindi po porket artista kayo ehh priority na kayo dito sa swabbing facility. Pare-parehas kayong nagbayad ng ibang clients at higit sa lahat, pare-parehas kayong tao. Kaya wala pong special treatment dito. Paano na lang ‘yung ibang nauna sa inyo ‘di ba?” the healthcare worker added.
Angelica has not yet addressed the comments on her tweets.
The Philippine Red Cross has likewise not yet issued a statement on the matter.
