PNP chief Gen. Guillermo Eleazar. Screenshot from Facebook / PNP livestream
MANILA, Philippines — Police officers were reminded by outgoing Philippine National Police (PNP) chief Gen. Guillermo Eleazar to start patrols to secure people in the streets, as the government allowed caroling for this Christmas season.
Eleazar on Thursday said the patrols will also make sure that carolers observe COVID-19 health protocols.
“Ngayong papalapit na ang Kapaskuhan, sigurado akong magsisimula na ang pangangaroling ng mga kabataan na bahagi na ng tradisyon nating mga Pilipino,” Eleazar said.
(Now that the Christmas season is fast approaching, I am sure that the caroling activities of young people would start, as part of the tradition of us Filipinos.)
“Inatasan ko ang ating kapulisan na mag-umpisang magsagawa ng mga patrolya tuwing gabi para sa seguridad ng mga nangangaroling at para na rin siguraduhing sumusunod sila sa health protocols,” he added.
(I have directed our police force to do patrols every night to secure those who would do caroling, and also to ensure that they observe and follow health protocols.)
Eleazar also urged carolers to still observe the health protocols as the threat of the pandemic is still present.
“Kahit pa bumababa ang kaso ng COVID-19, hindi ito dahilan upang maging kampante at magpabaya sa pagsunod sa minimum public health standards,” he said.
(Even if COVID-19 cases are on a downward trend, it is not an excuse to be complacent and disregard the observance of minimum public health standards.)
“Mas sasaya ang ating Kapaskuhan kung tuloy-tuloy ang pagbaba ng mga COVID-19 cases at kapiling pa rin natin at walang anumang karamdaman ang ating mga mahal sa buhay,” he said.
(Christmas will be happier if our COVID-19 cases continue decreasing, and if we are still with our loved ones who are healthy and free from any disease.)
On Wednesday, the Department of the Interior and Local Government confirmed that caroling activities for this Christmas season are allowed for areas under Alert Level 2, or places with a relatively low COVID-19 transmission count.
Caorling was not allowed by the government last year.
READ: Christmas caroling allowed in areas under Alert Level 2 — DILG
COVID-19 cases have continued to drop across the country: as of Wednesday, with active infections dropping to 29,138 after the Department of Health (DOH) recorded 2,646 only new infections, in contrast to the 4,029 recoveries tallied.
The low numbers have allowed the national government to put Metro Manila under Alert Level 2. However, health experts are worried about the possibility of another surge as it was observed over the past few weekends that more people — including children — were in outdoor areas like malls, parks, and other places of leisure in Metro Manila.
Authorities especially from the Department of Health (DOH) have warned against being too relaxed, as the pandemic’s threat along with other variants — like the Delta subvariant — is still present.
On Monday, DOH said that they have detected the B.1.617.1 COVID-19 variant in Pampanga — the strain formerly known as the Kappa variant, which was designated by the World Health Organization as a variant under monitoring.
READ: Children now allowed out under Alert Level 2 in Metro Manila
READ: Complacency under alert level 2 worries DOH
READ: PH records first B.1.617.1 COVID-19 variant case in Pampanga