SEVEN local government units (LGUs) have asked the Inter-Agency Task Force on the management of Emerging Infecting Diseases (IATF-EID) to place their areas under enhanced community quarantine (ECQ) to ensure the welfare of their constituents.
Presidential spokesman Harry Roque said on Tuesday said that after the announcement of the extension of the ECQ and downgrading to general community quarantine (GCQ) of some areas, he had received calls, some of them from Northern Luzon, requesting that their areas remain under stricter quarantine regulations.
He refrained from detailing if the requests came from cities, municipalities or provinces. He, however, said the request of Naga City to be placed under ECQ has yet to be discussed by the IATF.
ECQ is in effect until May 15 in the National Capital Region, Central Luzon except Aurora, Calabarzon region, and the provinces of Albay, Pangasinan, Iloilo, and Cebu; and the cities of Iloilo, Cebu, Bacolod, Legaspi, Davao and Zamboanga.
Other provinces in the Luzon island are now under GCQ.
MANDALUYONG LOCKDOWN
Barangay Addition Hills in Mandaluyong City will be under a week-long total lockdown starting May 7 (Thursday) due to high COVID infection rate among its residents, Mayor Menchie Abalos said on Tuesday.
Abalos said made the decision after consulting with officials of the City Epidemiology and Surveillance Unit (CESU), Mandaluyong Medical Center, and Armed forces of the Philippines (AFP) as well barangay chairman Carlito Cernal.
Barangay Addition Hills has 57 confirmed cases, the highest in Mandaluyong City, and 165 suspected cases.
While under total lockdown, CESU will conduct rapid testing on the barangay’s 3,000 residents.
Abalos said food packs will be distributed to residents as quarantine passes will be canceled during the period. Families will be allowed to go out of their homes only for medical emergency reasons.
TONDO LOCKDOWN
Manila Police District (MPD) information chief Lt. Col. Carlo Magno Manuel said 281 persons, including 25 minors, were apprehended during the 48-hour “hard” lockdown on the first district of Tondo, an indication that the imposition was a success.
The hard lockdown started on Sunday and ended at 5 a.m. of Tuesday.
Manuel said Police Station 1 (Raxabago) recorded 171 arrests and rescued 19 minors loitering in the streets. On the other hand, Police Station 2 (Moriones) apprehended 70 persons and rescued six minors, while Police Station 7 (Jose Abad Santos) reported 15 apprehensions.
‘Overall, 256 persons were arrested while 25 minors were rescued. The rescued minors were brought to their respective barangay officials,” Magno said.
Magno said those arrested were charged for violations of Article 151 of the Revised Penal Code or resistance and disobedience to persons in authority, as well as local ordinances on curfew and the mandatory wearing of face masks when outside of residences.
The first district of Tondo has 135 barangays and more than half a million in population. The MPD deployed 1,200 policemen, including members of the elite Special Action Force, to enforce the lockdown. They were augmented by members of the Manila Traffic and Parking Bureau and barangay tanods.
In a related development, the city health department said 1,451 rapid anti-body testing was conducted at testing centers at the Rosauro Almario Elementary School, Jose Rizal Elementary School, Timoteo Paez Integrated School and Tondo High School.
Of those tested, 109 tested positive for the virus. They undergo confirmatory swab tests.
As of 5 p.m. Monday, the city health department said there were 583 active COVID-19 cases in Manila as well as 924 suspected cases and 81 probable cases. One hundred fourteen have managed to recover, while 73 have died.
The highest number of cases were in Sampaloc with 120 confirmed cases, 154 suspected and 9 probable; followed by the first district of Tondo with 117 confirmed cases, 218 suspected ones and 42 probable cases.
LIQUOR BAN
Policemen arrested two men who were caught transporting alcoholic drinks in separation incidents in violation of the liquor ban regulation under enhanced community quarantine protocols.
The PNP identified the suspects as Jason delos Santos, 24, a B.S. Criminology student, residing at 84 Salvador St, Baesa, Caloocan City; and Jeffrey Velasco, 23, a resident of Barangay Talibaew in Calasiao, Pangasinan.
A report from the Quezon City Police District showed operatives of Station 12 were conducting a routine checkpoint in barangay Bagumbayan at around 7:45 a.m. when they flagged down a green Delica van (XCV-512).
Instead of stopping, the driver later identified as Joselito delos Santos, father of Jason, stepped on the gas to evade the checkpoint which prompted the cops to chase the van. Reports said one of the van’s occupants fired shots at the pursuing cops, which triggered a brief gun battle.
The van, however, was forced to stop after it hit the center island as it reached C5 road in barangay Ugong in Pasig City.
Joselito was injured and was rushed to the Rizal Medical Center, while Jason was placed under arrest.
Police Cpl. Villamor Talosig was injured after the motorcycle he was riding also figured in a self-accident during the chase. He is now confined at the Medical City in Pasig City.
Recovered from the van were several boxes of Emperador Light brandy, a Taurus .9 mm pistol and two loaded magazines.
In Pangasinan, operatives of the Binmaley Municipal Police Station arrested Jeffrey Velasco, an employee of a funeral parlor, after he was caught transporting three boxes of 2×2 gin hidden in a coffin.
Police Lt. Col. Brandon Paliscoc, the municipal police chief, said his men were conducting an ECQ checkpoint in barangay Biec when they flagged down the funeral car driven by Velasco.
Cops ordered Velasco to open the coffin as part of routine inspection. Instead of finding a dead body, cops found three boxes of the locally manufactured gin. — With Christian Oineza, Ashzel Hachero and Raymond Africa
