LUCENA CITY –– At least 17 persons, who posed as members of a nongovernment organization, were arrested for violation of the government’s enhanced community quarantine order in San Andres, Quezon on Tuesday.
The San Andres police reported that a van being driven by Frank Louie Cepriano, and carrying 16 other passengers, one of them a woman, was flagged down at a checkpoint before entering the town around 5:30 p.m.
Police said the suspects introduced themselves as members of an unnamed nongovernment organization, who claimed to have an appointment with the municipal mayor.
When checked, the authorities found out that the group had no appointment with the mayor.
Police arrested the suspects after they failed to show documents that classify them as “authorized persons outside residence,” who are exempted from the mandatory home quarantine order by President Duterte, to prevent the spread of the coronavirus disease (COVID-19).
The suspects were turned over to the rural health unit to undergo the mandatory 14-day quarantine period, while charges were being prepared against them.