PNP chief Gen. Archie Gamboa. INQUIRER.net file photo / Cathrine Gonzales
MANILA, Philippines — The country’s police force will be providing escorts to vehicles delivering food items and other basic needs to ensure that the basic commodities will reach their respective establishments, the head of the Philippine National Police (PNP) said Tuesday.
“We agreed with the armed forces na all of these checkpoints sa expressways pagsinabi na these (deliveries) would pertain to a specific grocery, we would provide escorts to ensure that it would really go to groceries,” PNP chief Gen. Archie Gamboa said in an interview aired on CNN Philippines.
(We agreed with the armed forces that all of these deliveries in checkpoints and expressways, if the deliveries would pertain to a specific grocery, we would provide escorts to ensure that it would really go to groceries.)
On Monday evening, the Philippine government placed Luzon under enhanced community quarantine that suspended all modes of transportation including public mass transportation.
However, private establishments providing basic needs and activities related to food and medicine production will still be open.
These exempted private facilities include: ”public markets, supermarkets, groceries, convenience stores, hospitals, medical clinics, pharmacies and drug stores, food preparation and delivery services, water-refilling stations, manufacturing and processing plants of basic food products and medicines, banks, money transfer services, power, energy, water and telecommunications supplies and facilities.”
The government declared enhanced community quarantine after the continued rise of number of COVID-19 cases in the country.
To date, the Philippines has 142 cases, including 12 deaths, of the coronavirus disease. Most of the patients infected by the disease are admitted in hospitals in Metro Manila.