QCPD set to apprehend violators caught without face masks

MANILA, Philippines — The Quezon City Police District is gearing up for intensified enforcement of quarantine protocols in the city in the coming days, promising the "deployment of police officers 24/7, particularly in public areas to intensify police visibility."

This comes after President Rodrigo Duterte in a televised address to the public on Wednesday night ordered cops to arrest face mask violators. 

“My orders to the police are those who are not wearing their masks properly in order to protect the public—because if not, if you cannot defend the public—to arrest them and detain them, investigate why they are doing it. They have nine hours,” he said.

In a statement, Police Brig. Gen. Antonio Yarra said that police in the city have been reminded that arrests should "be guided by the principles of existing laws, local ordinances and other policies relative to the observance of minimum health standards based on the IATF-MEID guidelines."

Yarra said that the QCPD has already recorded 3,625 violators with 348 arrested while 1,139 received a warning.

At least 2,100 offenders have paid the corresponding penalties in two days, he said.

On the first day of ECQ alone, the PNP disclosed that nearly 2,600 were arrested for various quarantine violations across Metro Manila, Bulacan, Cavite, Laguna and Rizal.

This comes on top of the over 17,000 who have already been apprehended for supposed quarantine violations since the PNP started deploying cops to enforce uniform curfew hours in the capital region.

"Minimum health protocols are not only for your safety but also for your families and friends. Let us not allow obedience to ordinances end up in arrests or apprehension. Covid-19 is still widespread, and unity is key for us to reduce the Covid-19 case in the city," Mayor Joy Belmonte said.

“We welcome the President’s orders as an affirmation of the city’s preventive strategy in dealing with the pandemic. We must do our part to ensure that cases continue to drop, and for the economy to recover."

Cops told: Arrest face mask violators 'but do not hurt or punish them'

In a separate statement, newly-minted PNP chief Police Gen. Guillermo Eleazar assured the public of the police’s full respect for human rights but said that the PNP would comply with the president's orders. 

“We can arrest them but we cannot punish them and we should not injure them. If you will (harm them), you will be answerable to me,” he said in a statement in Filipino.

Eleazar added that police officers have been ordered to exercise maximum tolerance when dealing with people on the ground.

To date, the Department of Health has recorded 1,094,849 cases of the coronavirus in the Philippines. 

“I understand the concerns of some people regarding the arrest of those not wearing face masks but this is a needed measure to ensure compliance of the people to observe the minimum health safety standard protocol,” said Eleazar.

“I believe that most of the Filipinos are doing what needs to be done to protect themselves and their family but we really do have people who are stubborn and can't be reasoned with. The President’s order is for these hard-headed people,” he added.

Earlier, cases of aggressive and overzealous enforcement  piled up over the country's first  ECQ in the name of "punishing" the public for its "stubbornness" and "complacency" with quarantine regulations.

READ: Back to 'disiplina'? On second day of ECQ, stories of power-tripping enforcers

The PNP earlier said it would only be imposing fines and community service on quarantine violators instead of arrests, though it seems as though this police has been redacted in the wake of the chief executive's directive. 

Interior Secretary Eduardo Año has since ordered the PNP to prepare detention areas in anticipation of the volume of arrests in the coming days.

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