Metro Manila police ordered: Consult with LGUs on deployment of cops in public areas

MANILA, Philippines — The chief of the Philippine National Police ordered unit commanders in Metro Manila to assess and coordinate with their respective local government units on the need for additional deployment of policemen in public and leisure areas following the downgrading of COVID alert in Metro Manila.

This comes as quarantine restrictions in Metro Manila are set at a more relaxed Alert Level 3 until the end of October as the COVID-19 situation in the capital region continues to show marked improvement.

In a statement, Police Gen. Guillermo Eleazar said that the PNP recorded a number of people flocking to public areas across the Metro on the first weekend of the Alert Level 3 implementation.

A number of people went outside for outdoor exercises, the PNP chief said, while others flocked to churches and leisure areas, including the Dolomite Beach at the Baywalk, the Marikina River Park, the Quirino Grandstand, and the Mall of Asia grounds.

“I have tasked all concerned police offices to determine if there is a need to deploy more cops to enforce the minimum health standards,” Eleazar said.

"We still need to ensure the safety of our countrymen because this may be the source of the increase in COVID-19 cases in NCR."

Police data shows that from Saturday to Sunday, 5,606 Filipinos were fined for violations of minimum public health standards, while 7,867 were warned. 

The PNP chief said the police organization would wait for the decision of the IATF regarding the mobility of minors amid the easing of some protocols and opening of more business establishments. 

"If we want the number of COVID-19 victims to continue to decrease, discipline and adherence to the rules under Alert Level 3 must still be enforced. And health and safety protocols will be ignored," Eleazar said. 

"We in the PNP are just enforcing laws and regulations. We will wait for their resolution on this matter and we will implement it properly."

Per data from the Philippine National Police, 581 areas are under granular lockdown across the country, leading to 6,136 households or 22,024 individuals under lockdown. 

To date, health authorities have recorded 2.72 million coronavirus infections in the country, 81,641 of whom are still classified as active cases.

It has been 580 days since the first enhanced community quarantine was hoisted in the Philippines, which is still under the world's longest quarantine. — Franco Luna

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