CRIMES against persons and property went down last month during the strict implementation of the Enhanced and later Modified Enhanced Community Quarantine (ME Q) in NCR Plus Bubble and the rest of the country, the Philippine National Police leadership headed by General Debold M. Sinas said on Monday.

PNP Director for Operations, Major General Alfred S. Corpus said they also recorded a downtrend in COVID-19 cases in NCR Plus Bubble amid the strict enforcement of the ECQ and MECQ protocols which fully aided in the government response to contain the reproduction of the killer virus in Metro Manila and the provinces of Bulacan, Cavite, Laguna and Rizal.

Corpus said that even the independent OCTA research group confirmed the reduction in the COVID-19 cases in the past week, actually 20 percent lower than that of the previous week.

“Those remarkable gains is largely due to the strict observance of minimum health standards and we appeal to the public to sustain the positive gains and continue to bear with us. Please stay in your homes and lessen your movement if you’re not an authorized person,” the official said.

PNP Directorate for Investigation and Detective Management Officer-in-Charge, Brigadier Gen. Sterling Raymond P. Blanco said that they recorded 2,399 cases of index crimes last April compared to the 2,787 cases in March or a reduction of 476 cases.

Index crimes are serious crimes which include murder, homicide, rape, theft, robbery, car and motorcycle theft and physical injuries.

On the other hand, a total of 15,368 non-index crimes were recorded by the DIDM last month compared to the 15,980 cases in March or a reduction of 312 incidents. Non-index crimes are mostly violation of special laws such as illegal logging, illegal gambling and violation of local ordinances.

Over 70K apprehended for ECQ, MECQ violations

Corpus said that a total of 70,603 individuals have been apprehended for violation of minimum health protocols imposed by the Inter-Agency Task Force for the Management of Emerging Infectious Diseases.

They include 43,401 persons who were accosted for not wearing face masks in public; 16,969 for not wearing face shield; 150 for defying the rule against mass gathering; and 6,362 for non-observance of social distancing.

Corpus said that of the violators, a total of 22,222 were arrested; 13,333 were warned while 166 were ordered to pay fines imposed by local government units

The official said that a total of 44,250 curfew violators were also accosted during the period of which 27,763 were warned; 14,904 were ordered to pay fines; and 1,583 told to perform community service. He added that the Metro Manila Development Authority has passed a resolution adopting a uniform 10 p.m. to 4 a.m. curfew in Metro Manila starting last Saturday.

Corpus said that since Gen. Sinas ordered the full implementation of the MECQ in NCR Plus Bubble, 71 Quarantine Control Points manned by 973 personnel from the National Capital Region Police Office and the Police Regional Offices 3 and 4-A have been put up to restrict the movement of the people to help curve the transmission of the virus.

The NCRPO headed by Major Gen. Vicente D. Danao Jr. has 35 QCPs in Metro Manila being manned by 338 personnel daily while there are 24 QCPs in Bulacan with 188 personnel; and 12 QCPs in the provinces of Cavite, Laguna and Rizal with 398 policemen assigned in those areas daily.

Corpus said that they are also a total of 188 law enforcement checkpoints in those areas being manned by a total of 1,706 policemen daily. A total of 17,427 PNP personnel have also been tasked to secure the transport and delivery of the vaccines nationwide while another 9,744 are securing the different vaccination sites nationwide.

The PNP’s Libreng Sakay program also saw the deployment of 7,703 police vehicles manned by over 16,000 policemen tasked to ensure that the wearing of face masks and face shields and social distancing will be followed by people inside PNP trucks, mobile cars and pickups.

So far, nearly 74,000 people affected by the lack of transportation during the start of the ECQ have benefited from the PNP program.

Extended MECQ effects visible next week — OCTA

“Our trend in the NCR is still improving. What we’re seeing is that the average number of cases in the NCR is now around 3,000 per day, 5,500 ‘yung peak (during the peak) and down to 3,000 na tayo and hopefully still decreasing,” OCTA Research fellow Dr. Guido David said in a television interview Tuesday.

“Ang nakikita natin ay ‘yung effect ng ECQ and MECQ [modified ECQ] hanggang April 30,” he said.

The NCR has the highest number of coronavirus cases. Latest data from the Department of Health (DOH) as of May 3 show that the region has 27,647 active cases, followed by Region 4-A (Calabarzon) with 13,570.

Nationwide, David noted that the average number of cases now is less than 8,000 per day compared to 10,000 cases at its peak.

“Hindi ganun kabilis ang bagsak sa buong Pilipinas kasi may mga lungsod na may konting pagtaas tayo outside the bubble (Nationwide, the decrease is slower because there are some cities outside the bubble showing a slight increase in cases),” he said, referring to areas outside the so-called NCR Plus bubble consisting of Metro Manila, Bulacan, Cavite, Rizal and Laguna.

He added that the effect of the extended MECQ, which started on May 1, maybe visible by next week.

Even with the improving downward trend, David said some cities within the NCR show an “unstable” decrease of cases.

“Muntinlupa and Las Piñas, mababa ang decrease nila at ‘yung Valenzuela, flat ‘yung trend nila, Parañaque, Mandaluyong, mababa (Muntinlupa and Las Piñas have minimal decrease in cases and Valenzuela have a flat trend, Parañaque, Muntinlupa have low decreases),” he said.

Pateros and the cities of Manila, Navotas, Pasay show a huge drop in the number of COVID-19 cases.

“Manila, Navotas, Pasay, Pateros, malaki ang ibinaba simula nung surge, ‘yung iba diyan 75 percent ang nabawas sa cases compared noong peak ng surge (Manila, Navotas, Pasay, Pateros, their cases dropped tremendously since the surge, some of them have a 75-percent drop in their cases compared to the peak of case surge),” he added.

David said the OCTA Research might recommend the further easing of the community quarantine status next week when its effects start to show.

He reminded the public that easing of economic restrictions must be gradual and calibrated to avoid the ill effects of a possible sudden surge. Philippine News Agency