MOBILE checkpoints have been set up in key areas along EDSA and other major thoroughfares in Metro Manila to stop people from going out of their houses for non-essential trips in violation of guidelines under the extended Luzon-wide Enhanced Community Quarantine (ECQ).
President Duterte himself had called attention to the continued presence of numerous vehicles on major thoroughfares in Metro Manila, like EDSA, and the continued gathering of people in streets.
PNP deputy chief for operations and Joint Task Force Corona Virus Shield chief Lt. Gen. Guillermo Eleazar noted that some of those who have been questioned by the police have said they were bored at home and were just on road trips and enjoying traffic-free EDSA.
Eleazar warned drivers and vehicle occupants who are not authorized to be outside their homes will be apprehended. He said commensurate charges will be filed against violators and their driver’s licenses will be confiscated.
“We would like to emphasize that this is a clear violation of the home quarantine and social distancing rules,” he said.
Eleazar said policemen will also step up inspection of motorists for possible violation of quarantine guidelines along the South Luzon Expressway.
The mobile checkpoints will be manned by the PNP Highway Patrol Group which is implementing its own Oplan Habol to run after violators.
“Aside from mobile checkpoints, our HPG personnel will also implement Oplan Habol. Under this, HPG riders will look for areas where there are a lot of private vehicles and check if the vehicles have more than one occupant,” said Eleazar.
“If there is at least one UPOR (unauthorized person outside residence) as passenger, or the only occupant is the driver but he is also UPOR, we will arrest them,” said HPG chief Brig. Gen. Eliseo Cruz.
Cruz said they are adopting the measure on EDSA and major thoroughfares in Metro Manila to end the use of private vehicles in the transport of unauthorized persons outside their homes.
Cruz said some motorists may have escaped checks but the PNP will be stricter this time.
Cabinet Secretary Karlo Nograles, concurrent spokesman of the Inter-agency Task Force for the Management of Emerging Infectious Diseases (IATF-EIFD), said the police will also be stricter on the use of quarantine passes.
Noting that 108,088 persons have been arrested for violating quarantine guidelines, Nograles said: “The President and the members of the IATF noticed that many people appeared to be nonchalant when it comes to the ECQ. So to address this and the reported increase in the number of vehicles travelling along EDSA and other major thoroughfares of Metro Manila, and on orders of the President, the Philippine National Police will strictly impose the policy on authorized persons outside of residence (APOR).”
Under the APOR policy, the HPG, starting April 15, can conduct inspection of private vehicles to determine whether the driver and passengers on board are authorized to go out or are included in the list of those exempted from the stay at home order.
If the driver or any of the passengers are proven to be unauthorized, the HPG will issue a ticket against drivers of private vehicles that are caught transporting unauthorized persons outside of their residence.
The Metropolitan Manila Development Authority (MMDA) released the APOR list, which exempts all workers of medical and health services including officials of the Department of Health; funeral services including the immediate families of the deceased, and officiating religious leaders; banks and money transfers; food services; supermarkets, public markets, sari-sari stores, pharmacies and drug stores; emergency responders and security services including members of local government units, barangay health emergency teams, and Department Social welfare and Development, and Department of Interior and Local Government, the police, armed forces, fire bureau, coast guard, customs, and immigration.
Other officials of the government and their staff, like lawmakers, department heads; members of the agribusinesses sectors including agricultural workers and veterinarian and veterinary clinic employees; media practitioners and members of the Presidential Communication Operations Office (PCOO) and its attached agencies, are also exempted.
Unified ID cards issued by the IATF are required to be presented especially in the National Capital Region.
He urged the public for more cooperation and understanding and said the measures are “all being done for us and our families in order to prevent the virus from spreading.” — With Jocelyn Montemayor
