Hard to protect public as quarantine violators reach 300k — Eleazar

MANILA, Philippines — Police Lt. Gen. Guillermo Eleazar, chief of Joint Task Force (JTF) COVID Shield, on Tuesday said it would be difficult for law enforcers to protect the public from the spread of COVID-19, expressing alarm that over 300,000 individuals violated quarantine protocols nationwide.

“The success and failure of our fight against COVID-19 depends on the cooperation of our kababayan. The more they defy and challenge the rules set by the government to prevent the spread of the coronavirus, the more they make it difficult for our government to protect them,” Eleazar said in a statement.

“On the part of the JTF COVID Shield, we will continue to maximize what we have to strictly enforce the quarantine rules because what is at stake here is the lives of the Filipino people and the fate of our country,” he added.

Figures from JTF COVID Shield showed 308,859 have been apprehended from March 17 to August 10.

Of the total violators, 146,012 were warned, 77,190 were fined while 64,853 were facing complaints.

Eleazar also noted that violators of the coronavirus quarantine increased due to those who failed to follow the policy for pillion riding on motorcycles.

Police continue to receive information about those who violate social distancing rules such as “engaging in drinking sessions, organizing or attending parties and gambling,” Eleazar said. [ac]