A crew member of a cargo ship who was earlier reported to have been suffering from a mental illness was arrested by police on Friday night after he jumped off from the vessel as it docked at the Tagbilaran City Port to avoid undergoing quarantine.

In a report, police said that the ship crewman identified as Erol Baldo, 29, of Dimiao swam towards nearby Caingget Beach where he was met and accosted by cops of the Tagbilaran City Police Station.

Erol told police that he jumped from the vessel which came from Manila to avoid quarantine. He was later turned over to the Dimiao Police Station then the town’s Municipal Health Office (MHO).

“Naa na siya daan sa among logbook na as psychiatric patient sa among municipality, wa ko kahibaw na nakasakay diay ni og barko,” said Dr. Pedro Rossel, Jr. of the Dimiao MHO.

According to Rossel, Erol was initially placed under home quarantine but he kept going out prompting authorities to transfer him to a barangay quarantine facility.

“Mo gawas man gud kuno sa balay unya nag-panic ang mga silingan,” Rossel said, adding that Erol was physically healthy and asymptomatic.

Authorities meanwhile decided not to file charges against him due to his mental illness.

He was instead kept under close monitoring and given medication for his condition.

The province of Bohol is still implementing a strict 14-day quarantine for anyone entering the province as measure to combat the spread of the coronavirus disease 2019.

Local government units in the province are given options to place Returning Overseas Filipinos and Locally Stranded Individuals under quarantine in hotels, government facilities or homes of the arriving Boholano. (A. Doydora with a report from W. Maestrado)