Baguio City — The Office of the Deputy Executive Secretary for Legal Affairs (DESLA) of the Office of the President has ordered Abra Vice Governor Maria Jocelyn Valera-Bernos to vacate her office for 18 months.

This suspension follows a complaint filed in December 2020 by Dr. A.C. Voltaire L. Seares, the medical director of Dr. Petronillo Seares Sr. Memorial Hospital. Valera-Bernos, who was the governor of Abra at the time, faced accusations of oppression and abuse of authority, conduct unbecoming of a public official, and disobedience to national government policies for imposing a lockdown on Seares Hospital, located in Barangay Poblacion, La Paz, Abra.

The lockdown was prompted by a Covid-19 case involving a hospital nurse in June 2020. The provincial government's measures included erecting barricades around the hospital and placing Barangay Poblacion under Extreme Enhanced Community Quarantine.

Seares claimed that the hospital’s staff and patients were restricted from leaving, with the directive posted on Valera-Bernos's social media account.

Seares argued that the lockdown was imposed without sufficient grounds and in violation of the Inter-Agency Task Force for the Management of Emerging Infectious Diseases guidelines.

He contended that the measure was implemented prematurely and without the approval of the Cordillera Administrative Region-Regional

Inter-Agency Task Force.

According to Seares, Valera-Bernos’ actions infringed on the freedom of movement and right to travel of individuals inside the hospital, causing undue harm and prejudice.