MANILA, Philippines — Despite the decision to place Metro Manila and other high-risk provinces back under the less stringent general community quarantine (GCQ), the Philippine National Police on Tuesday said it would be stricter in enforcing quarantine rules.
Joint Task Force COVID Shield chief Police Lt. Gen. Guillermo Eleazar said police officers on the ground “have been considerate” since the lockdown was enforced on March 17.
“By this time, our kababayans should have already adjusted to the new norms on public health so they must follow the rules now,” Eleazar said in a statement, stressing the mandatory use of masks and the observance of physical distancing.
According to Eleazar, violators “should no longer be warned and excuses should no longer be entertained because public health is at stake.”
“If they violate the rules, then they should be prepared for the consequences of their actions whatever the quarantine status is,” he said.
Eleazar said violators of quarantine rules could be penalized under Republic Act No. 1132 or the Mandatory Reporting of Notifiable Diseases and Health Events of Public Health Concern Act.
But he said local governments should pass specific ordinances to ensure that health protocols would be observed.
“This is the part where the local government units down to the barangay level should come up with their respective ordinances relating to the strict implementation of quarantine rules that include curfew and the mandatory compliance to the minimum health safety standard protocols in order for their constituents to be forced to comply and likewise synchronize with the efforts of the national government to contain the spread of this deadly virus,” he said.
Due to the limited number of police and military officers to cover the entire country, he said barangay officials should mobilize their respective barangay “tanod” for community-level enforcement of quarantine rules.
“The lack of manpower and resources to cover the entire country could be well filled up by the more than 42,000 barangays in the country which have their own respective security forces through the barangay tanod,” he said.
Part of the strict measures that should be continuously enforced, he said, was to have random checkpoints and regular patrol of policemen.
In a separate statement, PNP spokesperson Police Brig. Gen. Bernard Banac said the police would “continue to be vigilant in implementing public health protocols, and assist local government units in enforcing local health ordinances.” INQ