Actress Angel Locsin joins the Rural Missionaries of the Philippines in distributing relief goods to families displaced by the fighting in Marawi City. (Photo courtesy of the Rural Missionaries of the Philippines)
MANILA, Philippines – Police officers who entered a Taguig condominium over the weekend to enforce social distancing gained an unlikely ally in actress and philanthropist Angel Locsin, who stressed that crowding in condominiums and markets had no difference.
Locsin said in a post on her Instagram account on Wednesday that she supported the view of the Philippine National Police (PNP) and Taguig Mayor Lino Cayetano — that common areas of condominiums should remain closed while the enhanced community quarantine (ECQ) due to the COVID-19 pandemic was in effect.
“I live in BGC and I support the PNP and Mayor Cayetano. Rules are rules. Walang kaibahan po ang kumpulan sa palengke, pa-sabong sa sementeryo, at pa-bingo sa kalsada sa pagkumpulan ninyo sa swimming pool porket may common area sa high end condo ninyo,” Locsin said.
[I live in BGC and I support the PNP and Mayor Cayetano. Rules are rules. There is no difference between crowding in markets, in the cockfights inside cemeteries, and the bingo games on the street and your decision to flock to the swimming pool just because your high-end condominiums has common areas.]
According to the artist, known for being critical of the administration of President Rodrigo Duterte and some of its officials, people living in these posh areas should stop acting privileged, as social distancing was being enforced to prevent local transmission of the latest coronavirus strain.
“Wag po tayong privileged. Wala pong diplomatic immunity ang virus. You staying in common areas can harm not only us Filipinos but also the diplomats in your condominium,” she added.
[Let us not act privileged. The virus has no diplomatic immunity. You staying in common areas can harm not only us Filipinos but also the diplomats in your condominium.]
Last Saturday, a police officer was caught on video supposedly barging inside the Pacific Plaza Towers (PPT) without a warrant, ordering people to return to their units and refrain from using the common areas for the meantime.
This supposedly left residents of the condominium, which included foreigners, terrified. They vowed to pursue legal actions against the officer.
However, PNP chief Gen. Archie Gamboa assured the public that police officers would defend themselves, clarifying that they only received a complaint from one of the tower’s residents who relayed the situation.
Gamboa’s fellow PNP official, Joint Task Force coronavirus disease (JTF COVID) Shield chief Lt. Gen. Guillermo Eleazar also noted that these buildings were not exempted from COVID-19 quarantine rules.
Due to the ECQ over Luzon and other areas, work was stopped, except for essential services, while mass transportation was suspended. However, authorities recently noted a spike in the volume of vehicles along major Metro Manila roads and flocking around markets and groceries.
The administration has not decided whether the ECQ — which started since March 17 — will be extended past its April 30 deadline.
As of this writing, Taguig has recorded 199 COVID-19 patients, 15 of whom have died and 24 have recovered.
According to the Department of Health, there are now 6,710 patients infected with the coronavirus, of whom 446 have died and 693 have recovered.
Worldwide, over 2.57 million individuals have been infected, while 177,256 have died from the disease and 680,330 have recovered from it.
/atm