FAKE DOCTOR? | Physical therapist condemned for spreading misinformation on COVID-19

April 7, 2021 , 02:51 PM

(April 7, 2021) – The Philippine Physical Therapy Association Inc. (PPTA) condemned a physical therapist who has been making noise on social media for spreading misleading information about COVID-19.

The PPTA on Tuesday disowned Dr. Ronald Samaniego or more popularly known to his fans as “Dr. Ron,” calling him out for his “unethical and irresponsible” behavior.

“Mr. Samaniego is not a member of the association. We have reviewed some of the statements he made, and his claims about vaccination and the COVID-19 pandemic now circulating on social media which are dearly unfounded and without medical value. His claims do not reflect the views of the entire physical therapy profession, even less so, of the PPTA,” read the statement.

The PPTA is already looking into filing an ethical complaint with the Professional Regulation Commission (PRC) regarding Samaniego, who reportedly has an expired license.

Samaniego has been regularly posting videos on his Facebook account, making claims that COVID-19 isn’t real. In one of his videos, he questioned how the Department of Health (DOH) and healthcare workers were able to determine if a person was infected by COVID-19.

“Ito tanong ko sa DOH at sa mga naniniwala na may COVID na nakakamatay at nakakahawa ng husto. Paano niyo nalaman na may COVID? Anong proof niyo na meron COVID pa rin? Ano proof niyo na nakakahawa at nakakamatay ang COVID?” asked Samaniego.

Samaniego’s Facebook account, which had 700,000 followers, has reportedly been taken down.

He said COVID-19 is just a scam made by the government to make money. He also claimed that the PCR (polymerase chain reaction) test cannot detect if an individual is positive for the fatal virus, which has already claimed over 2.8 million lives worldwide, including close to 14,000 in the Philippines.

“Kahit ‘yung inventor mismo (ng PCR test) nagsabi hindi dapat ginagamit ‘yan to diagnose coronavirus. So ang tanong ko sa mga medical doctors na nagsasabi na may coronavirus pa rin, paano niyo nalaman na meron coronavirus talaga? said Samaniego. “Kung PCR testing lang at data ng WHO (World Health Organization), data ng DOH, wala na tayo pag-uusapan. Talo na kayo.”

The inventor of the PCR test, Kary Mullis, who died in 2019, never said the method does not work, disproving Samaniego’s claim.

The PPTA urged prudence among healthcare workers when making recommendations and to make sure to rely only on the best available evidence while exercising utmost professionalism at all times.

“We need to be active combatants against the spread of disinformation and misinformation. Now more than ever, we need to be able to rely on solid information backed up by evidence from trusted sources and agencies/organizations if we are to win against this pandemic,” said the PPTA.

(Kiko Demigillo/PM)

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