Local government units (LGUs), particularly barangays, should intensify the conduct of restrictions against coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19), the Joint Task Force (JTF) COVID Shield said Monday.
This was after the number of community quarantine violators has reached 338,294, JTF commander Lt. Gen. Guillermo Eleazar said.
“As barangay tanods, you are the designated law enforcers in your respective barangays to maintain peace and order. And in this time of pandemic when the national government needs all the help that it could get, they could expand their mandate to include the enforcement of the quarantine rules,” he said.
Some 149,653 violators, Eleazar said, had been warned, 96,043 had been fined, and 92,598 had been charged since lockdowns were implemented to contain the virus in the middle of March this year.
He said 198,394 violators were from Luzon, while 74,871 were from the Visayas, and 65,029 were from Mindanao.
Police personnel in coordination with the Department of Trade and Industry also arrested 974 suspects responsible for hoarding and profiteering or manipulating prices of essential goods as of Aug. 22.
All violators who were arrested since March 17 were dealt with based on the anti-COVID-19 ordinances of the LGUs, Eleazar said.
In other developments:
• Despite delays in the distribution of the government’s social amelioration program (SAP), Malacanang gave the Department of Social Welfare and Development (DSWD) a “passing mark” for its role in financially helping millions of poor Filipino families surviving the pandemic.
Palace spokesman Harry Roque said that while there were delays in DSWD’s distribution of SAP to millions of beneficiaries, it is understandable to wait and verify first the list of beneficiaries, which consists of millions that would have to come from LGUs.
“Maybe the grade is not to the level of magna cum laude but still it’s a passing grade because, first and foremost, the delay was due to the verification to make sure no double entries and this is the reason why around a million was stricken off the list,” Roque said in his regular press briefing.
• Motorcycle drivers and backriders are now required to wear full-face visor helmets under the general community quarantine (GCQ), the Metropolitan Manila Development Authority (MMDA) said.
MMDA general manager Jojo Garcia said the JTF ordered the measure, explaining that wearing a face shield while driving a motorcycle can be dangerous, considering that the protective gear can be drifted by the wind.
• Even with more public utility vehicles (PUVs) available, public transportation in the National Capital Region (NCR) would not be enough for commuters because of the 50 percent limit in passenger capacity to observe physical distancing, MMDA's Garcia said in an interview on GMA's Unang Hirit.
The Land Transportation Franchising and Regulatory Board (LTFRB) recently opened additional routes for traditional public utility jeepneys and UV Express vehicle units in Metro Manila.
LTFRB chairman Martin Delgra III said a total of 12,443 traditional jeepneys were authorized to operate along 126 routes. For UV Express, at least 1,621 units were authorized in 51 routes.
Common quarantine violations are unnecessary travels and non-compliance with minimum health safety standard protocols, such as wearing of face masks and observance of physical distancing, Eleazar said.
The task force also continues to receive reports of drinking sessions, holding and attending parties, even gambling, he added.
“The success and failure of our fight against COVID-19 depend on the cooperation of our kababayans. The more they defy and challenge the rules set by the government to prevent the spread of the coronavirus, the more they make it difficult for our government to protect them,” Eleazar said.
He said barangay tanods especially in Metro Manila where the 8 p.m. to 5 a.m. curfew is expected to be implemented, could set up checkpoints within their barangay and could conduct regular community patrol in order to compel local residents to observe the minimum health safety standards.
In coordination with the Philippine National Police, Eleazar said the anti-COVID activities of the barangay tanods, especially the setting up of checkpoints in the interior roads, could be set up but in coordination with the local police stations through the active role of the Quarantine Rules Supervisors (QRS), or the PNP’s COVID Focal Persons in the barangays.
Policemen may not be physically present in the barangay checkpoints but the checkpoints must be supervised by members of the local police station.
The JTF Covid Shield earlier tasked all police commanders to designate QRS in more than 42,000 barangays of the country who will enforce the observance of minimum health safety standards at the barangay level.
Interior Secretary Eduardo Año earlier emphasized the importance of the active participation of the barangays in the fight against COVID-19, saying the police and the military personnel are not enough to cover the entire population.