PNP to deploy 40,000 cops if Metro Manila lockdown ordered — Gamboa

Philippine National Police Chief Archie Gamboa attends the flag raising ceremony at Camp Crame in Quezon City on March 9, 2020. 
Niño Jesus Orbeta/Philippine Daily Inquirer

MANILA, Philippines — A maximum of 40,000 police officers would be deployed by the Philippine National Police (PNP) should the Department of Health (DOH) orders a lockdown of Metro Manila, after the capital region recorded a spike in confirmed cases of the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19).

PNP chief Gen. Archie Gamboa said 28,000 of this number will be coming from the National Capital Region Police Office (NCRPO), while around 10,000 will be coming from the PNP headquarters and national support units in Camp Crame, Quezon City.

“So more or less, we have 30,000-40,000 to utilize in case these things will come,” he said in an interview with reporters on Wednesday.

He stressed, however, that a lockdown needs a go signal from the health department before it can be enforced by the PNP.

“Certain protocols should be observed. But the PNP will always be there,” Gamboa added.

All PNP units nationwide should also establish their own quarantine areas, according to the PNP chief.

On Tuesday, Gamboa approved the procurement of 300 protective gears for police officers who might need to attend to the health conditions of their colleagues who might undergo quarantine inside police camps.

Two police officers and two non-uniformed personnel of the NCRPO were earlier directed to undergo self-quarantine for possible exposure to COVID-19.

READ: Sinas: 4 NCRPO personnel being monitored for possible COVID-19 exposure

Health Secretary Francisco Duque III said Tuesday that the DOH will “take a look” at the proposed lockdown of Metro Manila following the spike of COVID-19 cases in the region.

“We’ll take a look at that but we have to be more calibrated with our approach. We have to be more rational in the approach then we’ll see if there is an indication, we’ll see,” Duque said.

On Monday, Ma. Rosario Vergeire, DOH assistant secretary for public health services, explained that no lockdown will be enforced until the department has confirmed cases of “sustained community transmission” of the disease.