A total of 250 SAF troopers undergo a “turn-over ceremony” at Camp Bagong Diwa in Taguig City on Sunday, May 3, 2020, to augment personnel from the Manila Police District enforcing the hard lockdown in Tondo District 1. (Photo from NCRPO)
MANILA, Philippines — A total of 250 personnel of the Philippine National Police – Special Action Force (SAF) have augmented the local police enforcing the hard lockdown in Tondo District 1.
A “turn-over ceremony” for the SAF troopers was led by Col. Bernard Yang, acting chief of the Regional Operations Division of the National Capital Region Police Office, to Col. Nicolas Salvador, Deputy District Director for Operation of the Manila Police District.
The ceremony was held at Camp Bagong Diwa, Taguig City on Sunday, according to NCRPO on Monday.
“We greatly appreciate the generosity of SAF in sending us augmentation in this battle against the unseen. Verily, they will be of great aid in the implementation of the hard lockdown in Tondo, Manila,” said NCRPO director Maj. Debold Sinas.
The 48-hour hard lockdown in Tondo District 1 comes after the continuous increase of cases of the coronavirus disease in the district and due to consistent community quarantine violations of its residents.
The lockdown was imposed from 5 a.m Sunday and will end at 5 a.m. Tuesday.
Brig. Gen. Gen. Rolando Miranda, MPD director, earlier said over 800 personnel from the district police will be deployed to enforce the lockdown.
As of Monday morning, 204 residents of Tondo District 1 have been arrested by the police and brought to temporary holding areas.
Manila has already recorded 746 COVID-19 cases as of 5 p.m. Sunday. Of this number, 73 have died and 111 have recovered.
Tondo 1 has the second highest number of COVID-19 cases among all districts in the city next to Sampaloc, with 104 active cases, 13 deaths, and nine recoveries.
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