Manila: Two senators allied with President Benigno Aquino greeted acting Health Secretary Janette Garin with a kiss on the cheek during a budget hearing at the senate on Monday despite criticism that she did not wear protective clothing when she visited more than 130 Filipino peacekeepers quarantined on an island off Manila to be screened for the Ebola virus after their arrival from Liberia on November 12.

Before the budget hearing began, Senator Ferdinand “Bongbong” Marcos kissed Garin in the cheek and stayed beside her for small talk.

“I forgot that a health issue was raised against her. She’s a friend,” said Marcos in a phone interview.

When the budget hearing was suspended, Senator Paolo Benigno Aquino approached Garin, shook hands with her and kissed her on the cheek.

Meanwhile, Senator Vicente Sotto said he preferred facing Senate President Franklin Drilon as Garin spoke during a question and answer session during the budget presentation.

His body language “should not be interpreted that I don’t want to go near acting Health Secretary Garin,” Sotto said in jest.

Senator Francis Chiz Escudero approached Garin only after the hearing, but avoided shaking her hands.

Earlier, Escudero suggested that Garin should wear a protective gear when appearing before senators to defend the health department’s budget requirement.

Aided by a microphone, Senator Teofisto Guingona, chair of Senate health committee held a dialogue with Garin from a distance.

At the budget hearing, Garin pushed for a bigger budget to avert shortage of protective equipment for doctors, nurses, and other health workers who are tasked to handle Ebola cases.

Offering to launch an information campaign about the Ebola epidemic, Garin said it would “help separate fact from fiction about the deadly virus”.

Last Friday, when the senators discussed a protocol for Garin’s appearance at the budget hearing, the acting secretary said wearing a protective gear at the senate would “only spread false information and raise anxiety level of Filipinos about the Ebola virus”.

Communications Secretary Herninio Coloma had defended Garin earlier after she joined cabinet members who welcomed Aquino after his return from the Asia Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) leaders’ summit.

She is “following the protocols of the World Health Organisation,” said Coloma.

Coloma also defended Garin and Armed Forces of the Philippines Chief General Gregorio Catapang Jr who did not wear protective gowns on November 16, when they visited the Filipino peacekeepers who were undergoing a 21-day quarantine at Carballo Island.

“Their decisions are based on reason and correct standard procedure. We should acknowledge that what they did is still considered responsible. Ebola is not airborne and is spread though body fluids,” argued Coloma.

The visit of Garin and Catapang occurred two days after one of the Filipino peacekeepers had developed a fever on November 14. Health authorities said the fever was due to malaria, not due to Ebola virus.

The peacekeepers have not yet seen their relatives after they underwent quarantine at the Carballo Island following their arrival from Liberia aboard a chartered plane on November 12.

They initially passed the Ebola screen test that was conducted by the United Nations in Liberia.

The Ebola virus has killed more than 5,000 mostly from West African countries such as Guinea, Liberia, and Sierra Leone since an outbreak that began last December.