PNP to strictly enforce health protocols on PUVs

LOOK: PNP Chief Police General Guillermo Eleazar inspects quarantine control areas and border checkpoints in Quezon City on Friday, August 6, the first day of implementation of the two-week ECQ in the nation’s capital to prevent the spread of the Delta variant of the coronavirus.-INQUIRER/GRIG C. MONTEGRANDE (file photo)

MANILA, Philippines — The Philippine National Police will strictly enforce safety protocols on public utility vehicles (PUV) in the National Capital Region (NCR) Plus area, warning drivers they would take the blame for violations by their passengers.

Gen. Guillermo Eleazar, chief of the PNP, noted reports of blatant violations of minimum public health safety standards on passenger jeepneys and buses in the NCR Plus area.

He directed the PNP highway patrol group (HPG) and police personnel assigned at quarantine control points to issue temporary operators permit (TOP), official violator’s receipt (OVR), and traffic citation ticket (TCT) to noncompliant PUV operators and drivers in Metro Manila and the provinces of Bulacan, Laguna, Rizal and Cavite.

“We will be very strict in the implementation of this as part of our efforts to contain the spread of the coronavirus,” the PNP chief said on Sunday.

“So we are appealing to the drivers to ensure that their passengers are complying with these rules because you will be the ones to suffer the consequences if you’re caught,” he pointed out, adding that it’s their responsibility to ensure that passengers comply with the minimum public safety standards.

According to Eleazar, the PNP has been receiving reports of “unabated incidents of overloading, violations of minimum public health standards and violations of allowed passenger capacity as prescribed by the IATF (Inter-Agency Task Force for the Management of Emerging Infectious Diseases) and Department of Transportation guidelines committed by public utility buses and jeepneys, particularly in NCR Plus areas.”

Eleazar said the PNP-HPG would conduct random checks on PUVs to ensure their compliance with quarantine rules.