QCPD arrests driver for violation of liquor ban days after NCRPO chief holds birthday party
MANILA, Philippines — A Quezon City resident was arrested by Quezon City police for violating the liquor ban over the city—the same day a Metro Manila police chief issued a loose apology for breaking both quarantine protocols and the liquor ban when he held a birthday celebration.
According to a spot report, 51-year-old Elpidio Perdigon Jr. was caught transporting three boxes containing 27 bottles of vodka at Brgy. Old Capitol Site in Quezon City.
Perdigon was on a motorcycle when he was flagged down at a community quarantine checkpoint Tuesday evening, at which point he was not able to present to police elements a valid quarantine pass, police reports said.
He is facing charges of violations of QC Ordinance No. 24, or the liquor ban linked to Republic Acts No. 11332 and 11469 or the Bayanihan to Heal As One Act, the QCPD said in a statement sent to reporters.
Police Brig. Gen. Ronnie Montejo, QCPD director, reiterated in the statement that the liquor ban is still in effect in line with the extension of the enhanced community quarantine (ECQ) in Metro Manila.
“Muli po tayong nagpapaalala sa publiko na bawal po ang pagbenta, pagbili, at pag-inom ng alak sa mga pampulikong lugar. Manatili po tayo sa ating mga tahanan at ugaliing sumunod sa mga patakaran ng gobyerno at lokal na pamahalaan upang maiwasan ang pagkalat ng COVID-19 at tuluyan na itong mapuksa,” he added.
(We are again reminding the public that selling, buying, and drinking alcohol in public areas is prohibited. Let us stay in our homes and act in accordance with government and local government policies to prevent the spread of COVID-19 and eventually eliminate it.)
'Spontaneous celebration'
This follows a tumult of outrage on social media after the National Capital Region Police Office (NCRPO) posted photographs of its director, Police Maj. Gen. Debold Sinas, at a celebration of his birthday despite a ban on mass gatherings.
Many have slammed his "apparent exemption" from the law, whose enforcement groups said it applied a double standard on the part of the national police.
In his apology sent to reporters, he discredited the photographs—which came from his own public information office—saying they were “edited and grabbed from old posts.”
Before his apology was issued, PNP higher-ups at once denied that it happened and also said that it did not violate any rules.
Both Police Brig. Gen Archie Gamboa, PNP chief, and President Rodrigo Duterte have affirmed that under enhanced community quarantine rules, mass gatherings are prohibited.
Sought for comment by Philstar.com, Police Lt. Gen. Guillermo Eleazar, who heads the quarantine enforcement arm of the COVID-19 task force, has not responded as of this publishing.
Sinas is currently facing a probe over what he tagged as a "spontaneous celebration" from the national police's Internal Affairs Service, according to a statement from the PNP's public information office.
(Editor's note: This article has been updated to remove references to police officers drinking beer as it is unclear if a photo showing Sinas and other officers posing with cans of beer is from the same birthday event. The photo was not among the ones posted by the National Capital Region Police Office on its Facebook page)
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