Govt to enforce stricter quarantine guidelines amid rise in road traffic, violators

MANILA, Philippines — The government will be enforcing stricter guidelines for motorists during the enhanced community quarantine of Luzon beginning Wednesday amid the supposed rise in road traffic and quarantine violators in some parts of Metro Manila, Cabinet Secretary Karlo Nograles announced.

Nograles, spokesperson of the Inter-Agency Task Force (IATF) on Emerging and Infectious Disease, said the order came from President Rodrigo Duterte after the Philippine National Police (PNP) reported that 108,088 have so far violated the lockdown guidelines as of Monday.

A noticeable increase in the number of vehicles on Edsa and major thoroughfares in Metro Manila was likewise mentioned.

Vehicles race on Edsa in Mandaluyong City at the height of ECQ. Photo taken April 15, 2020 around 5 p.m./ AC

“Napapansin po ni Pangulong Duterte at mga myembro ng IATF na medyo nagiging kampante ang ating kababayan pagdating sa ECQ,” Nograles said.

To address this, the PNP’s Highway Patrol Group (HPG) will now inspect private vehicles to determine whether drivers and passengers belong to the list of Authorized Persons Outside of Residence (APOR) or not.

If the driver or any of the passengers is unauthorized, HPG will issue LTO-TOP or MMDA-OVR tickets against drivers of private vehicles.

Duterte placed the entire Luzon, the country’s political and economic center, under a month-long enhanced community quarantine. The quarantine was extended until April 30.

The measure stopped all public transportation and strictly enforced home quarantine protocols as work for the majority of the region’s residents was suspended.

Exempted from the lockdown however, are all businesses, services, and activities related to the production or provision of food, medicine, and health, banking and finance, public utilities, mass media among others.

/MUF