NCR police commanders tasked to help inform people on new anti-COVID rules
PHILIPPINE National Police chief, General Guillermo Lorenzo T. Eleazar on Tuesday ordered all police commanders in Metro Manila to assist in the information dissemination on the new guidelines on quarantine alert level system and in coming up with strategic enforcement and deployment in coordination with the local government units in the National Capital Region where the new guidelines will be implemented starting Thursday, September 16.
On Monday night, the national government released the guidelines, which aim to prevent the spread of coronavirus disease (COVID-19) amid the continuous rise of cases in the past days. The NCR Police Office headed by Major Gen. Vicente D. Danao Jr. and the Joint Task Force COVID Shield headed by PNP Deputy Chief for Operations, Lieutenant Gen. Israel Ephraim T. Dickson will be implementing the strict quarantine protocols.
“Sa paglabas ng mga alituntunin ng quarantine alert level system, inatasan ko na ang ating mga police commanders sa Metro Manila na pag-aralang mabuti at patuloy na makipag-ugnayan sa mga LGUs para sa strategic deployment at enforcement para sa maayos na pagpapatupad ng mga ito,” said the top cop.
What the PNP wants to prevent, according to Gen. Eleazar, is the confusion in the implementation of the rules which sometimes lead to unnecessary arguments and confrontations with the public.
Under the new guidelines, alert level systems will cover entire cities or municipalities, which will manage and minimize spread of infections. Each city or municipality will be classified from Alert Level 1 to Alert Level 5, which will be determined by the Department of Health.
The granular lockdowns, on the other hand, will be enforced in critical zones that will be declared by the local government unit.
“Aktibong makikibahagi ang inyong PNP sa enforcement at information dissemination sa guidelines na ito, na ang ibig sabihin din ay kailangang sumunod din ang kapulisan sa mga alituntuning ito,” said the PNP chief.
Gen. Eleazar reminded police officers to observe maximum tolerance and impose what is only stated on the guidelines, noting that violators should never be punished.
He likewise reiterated his appeal to the public to cooperate and follow the guidelines set by the government.
“Hinihikayat natin ang ating mga kababayan sa Metro Manila na alamin ang mga patakarang ito dahil ang pagsasa-puso sa pagsunod ng mga alituntuning ito ay isang mabisang sandata hindi lamang para proteksyunan ang inyong sarili kundi pati na rin sa patuloy na pagkalat ng COVID-19,” the PNP chief said.
