INTERIOR Secretary Eduardo Año yesterday said barangay captains will be arrested if they do nothing to stop or prevent the holding of superspreader events or mass gathering in their jurisdictions.
During his Talk to the People address on Wednesday night, President Duterte ordered the police to arrest barangay captains where mass gatherings will happen in violation of existing health protocols. The President directed police officers to bring the barangay captains to police stations and subject them to investigation for dereliction of duty for failure to enforce the law.
“Sa usaping pagaresto, di naman ‘yan sinasabing arestuhin mo kaagad (On the issue of arrest, it does not mean that you will have to arrest them immediately)… it is not automatic,” Año clarified in a radio interview.
“We will give the barangay captains a chance to do all actions to stop, prevent, and avoid super spreader events,” he said, but said that if the barangay leader does not do anything to address the situation, “that’s where the President’s order comes in, arrest him.”
He said the barangay captains who will be arrested can be detained for at least 12 hours under the Revised Penal Code. Beyond that, policemen may be charged for arbitrary detention, he said.
Año said barangay captains found to have not done their job to prevent mass gathering can be charged administratively and be suspended to prevent them from influencing the probe.
President Duterte on Wednesday night said he wants those who violate minimum health protocols, especially on mass gatherings, arrested if they continue to ignore the directives of the government.
The President cautioned the police, though, to use “reasonable force” against those who would resist arrest, especially local officials.
“I do not like it but I was forced to do this because the people refused to follow. And despite that, they flout the law by just doing it every night. If there is a congregation, there’s a party going on, arrest them,” he said.
“Huwag niyo akong pilitin na talagang pahirapan ko kayo (Do not force me to put you in a difficult situation),” he added.
Año told the President that three “superspreader” events have so far been reported. Año said more than 50 people were infected with the COVID-19 during the events and the government is tracing people who attended the events.
PNP chief Gen. Guillermo Eleazar said barangay captains will be immediately arrested if they are caught on site violating protocols on mass gathering.
“ If the crime is committed and he is there, we will arrest him,” said Eleazar.
If not caught on site, Eleazar said a case may need to be filed against the barangay captains before they will be arrested.
Justice Undersecretary Adrian Sugay said there is a need to study the legal basis of President Duterte’s directive. “This is new to us. I actually heard it last night. We will look into it,” Sugay told ABS CBN News Channel in an interview late Thursday afternoon.
Under the Rules of Court, warrantless arrests can be made when a person has committed, is committing or attempting to commit an offense, when a person or a law enforcement officer has probable cause to believe that a person has committed a crime or when a prisoner escaped from a penal institution. — With Jocelyn Montemayor and Ashzel Hachero
Justice Secretary Menardo Guevarra said the joint DOJ-DILG guidelines on the arrest, detention and investigation of health protocol violators amid the COVID-19 pandemic will be signed today.
“I have just been informed that DILG Secretary Ano has agreed in principle to approve the joint guidelines as drafted by the DOJ,” Guevarra told reporters Thursday when sought for an update on the issue.
In Bulacan, the provincial police said it was preparing charges against barangay officials for breach of health protocols when a large number of people went on swimming at a river in Norzagaray town last May 23.
Bulacan police director Col. Lawrence Cajipe said 25 barangay officials, including Barangay Matictic chairman Marcial Lucas, will be charged for violation of Republic Act 11332 (Mandatory Reporting of Notifiable Diseases and Health Events of Public Health Concern Act).
He said the officials will be also charged for violation of Republic Act 1319 (Anti-Graft and Corrupt Practices Act) and a provincial executive order which calls for the observance of health protocols, including social distancing.
Seventy-five people who went on the river were given citation tickets by the police. They are due to be subjected to testing to check if they are infected with the COVID-19 virus.
