PRESIDENT Duterte late Monday night ordered the arrest and detention of persons who will be caught not wearing a facemask outside of their homes as he called for stricter enforcement of quarantine guidelines issued by the government.
The President promised to buy as many masks as possible for free distribution to the public.
“We will have to ask our police to be more strict. Hulihin talaga (Arrest them). A little shame would put them on notice forever. Sino ba namang gustong mahuli ka? (Who wants to be arrested anyway?) If you are brought to the police station and detained there, that would give you a lesson for all time,” Duterte said in a public address that was taped Monday night but aired on Tuesday morning.
Duterte said during ordinary times, failure to wear a facemask and observe social distancing can be considered as “trivial” and a simple violation but “during times of health issues, pandemonium… it can be a serious crime.”
“We do not have any qualms in arresting people,” he added.
Last week, officials said health workers and the police would take patients with mild or no symptoms from their homes and place them in isolation centers to control the continued rise in local contamination. The announcement has raised concerns about possible human rights violations.
Duterte justified his order as he acknowledged the global surge in COVID-19 cases, including the Philippines.
The President reiterated that compliance to minimum health protocols, like wearing of facemask, social distancing, and washing of hands will go a long way in protecting one’s self from contracting the coronavirus.
He noted that the government leaders in the United States and in European countries, for instance, are now calling for the observance of these same minimum health protocols.
“They only have one unison statement: ‘You want COVID slow down or stop? Wear a mask or do not go out of your house if you do not want to wear one.’ That’s it and also social distancing. There is no other way that we can prevent COVID from transferring from one person to the other, unless we obey,” he said.
Duterte said local government officials should also ensure stricter implementation of health protocols laid down by the government through the Inter-Agency Task Force for the Management of Emerging Infectious Diseases (IATF) as failure to do so could be considered as gross negligence that can lead to the imposition of sanctions such as suspension or even termination from office.
“The mayors have to do more. They have to do more. They have to take care … If there are so many violations in a particular place and, well of course, the police is lacking and enforcement… (has) inadequate response to the rules that we are imposing… maybe we can summon them,” he added.
In line with the President’s directive to immediately arrest those not wearing facemasks in public, Lt. Gen. Guillermo Eleazar said the Joint Task Force COVID Shield which he leads will heighten their operation against violators.
“At sa atas ng ating Pangulo, inulit niya po na talagang seryosohin natin ito at talagang tutugon po tayo sa panawagan ng Pangulo (In line with the President’s order, he reiterated to intensify operations and we will strictly adhere to this call),” Eleazar said.
Eleazar said they expect that the IATF will prescribe the appropriate facemasks that people can wear as he noted that some people use masks that do not completely filter unwanted elements in the air and which, he said, can compromise their health.
Interior Secretary Eduardo Año said the different local government units (LGUs) in the country are drawing up a unified ordinance that would specify a single penalty for persons who would violate minimum health standards like the wearing of masks in public.
Año said members of the IATF met with the LGU executives on Monday and discussed the implementation of localized lockdowns, intensifying of identification of patients and contract tracing, isolation and treatment, among others.
“Gusto naming magkaroon po ng isang implementation lang po ng pare-parehas about LGU kung ilang araw po dapat ikukulong iyung mga nag-ba-violate sa pagsusuot ng face masks, at hindi nagpi-physical distancing, at kung magkano po iyung multa para po kahit saan pumunta ay pare-parehas iyung pagpapatupad (We want to have a unified implementation of sanctions by all LGUs, how many days of detention for those who violate the wearing of facemasks, and failure to observe physical distancing, and how much will be the fine so that it will be the same wherever they go),” he said.
GOD WILL NOT FORSAKE US
The President, who in the past had been heard cussing and threatening religious leaders and questioning God and his doctrines, on Monday night urged Filipinos to remain patient and to continue to pray and believe in God during this time of pandemic.
He said Filipinos, majority of whom are Catholics, should persevere and remain patient as the end of the pandemic would eventually happen.
He said efforts to develop a vaccine continue around the world and trials are now ongoing, adding he would borrow more money if he must to buy medicines and vaccines once these are made available.
“Marunong ang Diyos. Alam niyo hindi tayo niyan pababayaan especially Pilipinas kasi Kristiyanos tayo.
So magsakripisyo lang tayo nang kaunti tutal ang ating idol, nagsakripisyo man rin, pinaghahampas-hampas, ipinako pa sa krus. Tayo pasimba-simba man lang, luhod-luhod ka lang diyan. So dedicate it to the Lord that you also suffer for the country (God is all-knowing. He knows and he will not forsake us especially the Philippines because we are Christian. So let us sacrifice a little because our idol, he was nailed to the cross. Us, we just go to church and kneel. So dedicate it to the Lord that you also suffer for the country),” he added.
NAVOTAS LOCKDOWN
Authorities have arrested a total of 2,723 quarantine violators in Navotas City since it went on a 14-day lockdown, which started on July 16, the Task Force COVID Shield yesterday said.
In an interview over dzBB, JTF COVID Shield commander Lt. Gen. Guillermo Eleazar said those arrested were guilty of going out of their homes without facemasks, improper wearing of facemasks, getting out of their homes without a quarantine pass, loitering, and not observing physical distancing, among others.
He said those arrested were not detained in police stations but were brought to five holding areas established in the city where they were given lectures on quarantine measures and made to pay a fine before they were allowed to go home.
Eleazar said those who cannot afford to pay fines will also be released but cases will be later filed against them.
So far, Eleazar said the people of Navotas City are learning to cooperate with authorities on the lockdown protocols, except for the handful who were arrested.
Mayor Toby Tiangco placed his city under a 14-day lockdown following a spike in COVID-19 cases was recorded. The lockdown will be until July 30.
Eleazar said more than 440 troops from the National Capital Region Police Office, Special Action Force, Maritime Group, and the AFP’s Joint Task Force NCR have been deployed to Navotas to augment the more than 300 local police force.
He said authorities created a Task Force Kontra Tambay at Kontra Gala (Anti-Bystanding and Anti-Loitering) in each of the 18 barangays of the city to prevent unauthorized individuals from getting out of their homes.
He said this is on top of the 20 quarantine control points set up in the city to limit the movements of unauthorized persons.
Eleazar said this setup was also implemented in Cebu City to help stop the spread of COVID-19.
PERSONA NON GRATA
The Sangguniang Panlalawigan (SP) of Ilocos Sur has passed a resolution declaring three movie actors “personae non gratae” for their alleged willful disregard of quarantine protocols set by the provincial government.
According to the Ilocos Sur public information office, 14 SP members unanimously approved to declare as personae non gratae Robert Mejia aka Long Mejia, Romy Pastrana aka Dagul, and Gene Baldivia aka Gene Padilla for what they described as the actors’ “arrogance and willful disregard of lawful orders of duly constituted authorities of the province.”
The move to declare the three as such was based on the recommendation of Ilocos Sur Gov. Ryan Luis Singson last Sunday after he got irked with the “unsanctioned visit and social activities in Sto. Domingo, Ilocos Sur (of the three actors)… without proper coordination with the local government unit and the COVID Action Center of Ilocos Sur, and with no legitimate purpose.”
Singson added the three refused to undergo quarantine protocols by evading a police quarantine control point while in Sto. Domingo town.
“(This is a) violation of our laws, an exhibition of arrogance and impoliteness that should not be tolerated. I, therefore, call upon the Sangguniang Panlalawigan to urgently pass a resolution declaring Long Mejia, Dagul Pastrana, and Gene Padilla persona non grata in Ilocos Sur. Their gesture is truly a disappointment undermining the police power of the LGU in the implementation of quarantine protocols during the time of pandemic,” Singson said.
He said the three should have shown a good example by following authorities since they are all prominent personalities “with broad patronage.”
Singson said this incident should serve as a lesson for all that it is important to observe health protocols at this time of the pandemic.
“The little inconvenience that results from following strict rules and guidelines is a small sacrifice that we have to bear if want to succeed in this fight against COVID-19,” he added. — With Raymond Africa
