JTF COVID Shield chief Police Lieutenant General Cesar Hawthorne Binag. (FILE) Photo from the Facebook page of the Western Visayas Police Regional Office
MANILA, Philippines — Police officers were directed on Tuesday to coordinate with the social welfare department to rescue indigenous people who will conduct Christmas caroling, which could increase risk of COVID-19 infection.
“Napapansin namin may nangangaroling sa kalye — ito iyong ating kapatid na indigenous peoples. Inutusan ang mga hepe na makipag-coordinate sa social welfare office ng kanilang LGUs (local government units) para i-rescue itong kapatid natin na indigenous people para di sila ma-infect ng COVID at hindi sila maka-infect,” JTF COVID Shield chief Police Lieutenant General Cesar Hawthorne Binag said in a press conference at Camp Crame, discussing holiday protocols.
(We found indigenous people turned Christmas carolers. We ordered the police chiefs to coordinate with the social welfare office of local government units to rescue IPs so that they would not be infected with COVID-19 and they would not infect others.)
Metro Manila mayors already banned Christmas parties and Christmas caroling activities to prevent spike in COVID-19 cases.
As of Monday, the Philippines logged 441,399 confirmed cases of COVID-19. Of the number, 408,702 are recoveries while 8,572 are deaths.