Malacañang repeated Monday that declaring martial law is not included in the plans of President Rodrigo Duterte and that he will not use the COVID-19 crisis to declare a military takeover of the Philippines.
Presidential Spokesman Harry Roque said there was no mention of martial law during a meeting between Duterte and the members of the Inter-Agency Task Force on the implementation of guidelines in areas to be downgraded from the Enhanced Community Quarantine to General Community Quarantine after the April 30 deadline.
Duterte on April 23 extended the ECQ in Metro Manila and other area considered high risk for COVID-19, while some provinces were declared either under a “general” or “enhanced” community quarantine to address the rise in confirmed COVID-19 cases.
The GCQ will limit people’s movements to accessing basic necessities and work and direct uniformed and quarantine personnel to be present at border points.
"Let's not complicate things by making it a peace-and- order problem,” Roque said in a televised briefing when asked to respond to the criticisms of Duterte’s latest pronouncement.
“It's already hard as it is. It is not only in the Philippines that we have the pandemic.”
‘Compassionate lockdown’
Vice President Leni Robredo said Monday she hoped law enforcers could be "more compassionate" as they kept watch over the millions of residents locked down in their homes to prevent the spread of COVID-19.
"There are some hard-headed people and we think enforcement should be strict. However, I wish that it will not lead to violence,” Robredo told CNN Philippines.
“Enforcement should be more compassionate. Everyone should have flexibility. Enforcement shouldn't end up in violence.”
A policeman last week shot dead a former soldier who had post-traumatic stress disorder for allegedly the lockdown in Quezon City.
Some police officers also face investigation for allegedly trespassing into a condominium compound in Taguig, where they allegedly shouted at the residents who were not practicing physical distancing.
“The public should understand why we have a lockdown. We need to take care of their needs so they won't disobey,” Robredo said.
Effective deployment
The deployment of Special Action Force and Highway Patrol Group personnel has been effective so far in reducing cases of enhanced community quarantine violations, according to an official.
In a statement late Sunday, Lt. Gen. Guillermo Eleazar, Joint Task Force Corona Virus Shield commander, said the deployment of the special police troops along with military personnel and armored personnel carriers on April 21 reduced the cases of quarantine violations by almost 50 percent.
From a total of 3,314 ECQ violations on April 21, the figure went down to 3,306 on April 22 and to 1,585 on April 23, he said.
Luzon posted the biggest decline in the number of ECQ violators, or from 2,313 on April 22 to 1,152 on April 23.