THE Department of Interior and Local Government on Tuesday censured a Quezon City official who posted a “shoot-to-kill” threat against violators of the modified enhanced community quarantine (MECQ) in the city.
Interior Undersecretary and spokesman Jonathan Malaya said the department considers the statement of QC Task Force Disiplina chief Rannie Ludovica “improper and illegal and we advise him to desist from issuing similar statements in the future.”
In his Facebook page, Ludovica on Monday said: “Mula bukas, shoot to kill na ang lalabag sa MECQ (Starting tomorrow, shoot-to-kill for those who will violate MECQ.”
Quezon City Mayor Joy Belmonte condemned Ludovica’s post, saying it is wrong, inappropriate, and not a city policy.
In a statement on Tuesday, Ludovica clarified what he posted was a personal message and not a policy of the local government.
Ludovico said he posted the message out of frustration due to the shift of Mega Manila to MECQ. He said COVID-19 cases in the city continue to rise due to lack of discipline among residents.
Malaya, while acknowledging that discipline is the key to the prevention of the transmission of COVID-19, said “this must be enforced within the bounds of the law.”
Malaya said the DILG “will not tolerate any possible abuse of authority on the part of law enforcement agencies or enforcement units of local government units.”
“The penalties to be imposed by local government units against quarantine violators must be within the bounds of their respective ordinances,” Malaya said.
Malaya said the QC government has disowned the post of Ludovica.
Malaya said the QC government said that Ludovica’s post “should not be taken literally, if true, and that it was merely an expression of frustration over the growing number of violations in Quezon City.”
“Nonetheless, LGU department heads must be circumspect in their social media posts since this may be mistaken by their constituents as official LGU policy. In imposing discipline, we must also act in a disciplined manner at all times,” Malaya said.
