Año to condo residents: Don’t make your own quarantine rules

MANILA, Philippines — Condominium owners should not make their own rules during the enhanced community quarantine following a recent incident involving policemen barging the Pacific Plaza Towers in Taguig City to enforce lockdown measures, Interior Secretary Eduardo Año said Tuesday.

“You know the condo owners cannot make their own rules. We are under public health emergency, under the state of calamity. Iisa lang yung Republika ng Pilipinas, they are part of the Republic of the Philippines so they should respect the lawmen,”  Año said over ANC.

(The condo owners cannot make their own rules. We are in a public health emergency, under the state of calamity. There is only one Republic of the Philippines, they are part of that so they should respect the lawmen.)

On April 19, Sunday afternoon, police officers reportedly stormed into the gated condominium to enforce lockdown rules without authorization prompting foreign nationals, who are tenants of PPT, of planning to file a complaint against the lawmen. 

The police officers allegedly shouted and waived their firearms at the condominium residents in the pool area.

But Año also said that there was no gun-toting incident when police officers entered the Taguig-based condominium to confront building residents about quarantine protocols.

“I saw the video, there was no gun-toting, there was no wielding of arms, our policemen went there because several people called up the city government that there are people violating the social distancing in the common area particularly in the pool area,” Año said.

“So nagpunta yung pulis natin dun not on their own will but because they are actually responding to a call from the city government,” he added.

(So police officers went there not on their own will but because  they are actually responding to a call from the city government.)

The Philippine National Police (PNP), meanwhile, is already conducting an investigation to check lapses of police officers in confronting the tenants at the condominium, Año said.

“Nagpaimbestiga si (Lt. Gen. Guillermo) Eleazar kung ano talaga yung tunay na nangyari dun. Nagkaroon ng altercation with I think the property manager so but you know it could have been avoided,” he said.

(Eleazar already ordered an investigation on what really happened in the incident. An altercation happened with the property manager I think but you know it could have been avoided.)

“This is you know what you call Bayanihan, respect for everyone, so maaring may pagkakamali ang ating kapulisan kung nasobrahan yung pagsigaw nya, well we treat that separately,” he added.

(This is you know what you call Bayanihan, respect for everyone, so there could be problems with our police officers, if his shouting was too much, well we treat that separately.)

Edited by JPV