The Quezon City government has deployed more personnel for the strict enforcement of health protocols in public places.
Retired police general Elmo San Diego, the city’s Department of Public Order and Safety chief, said they have trained additional enforcers to be assigned to markets and other public areas around the city to ensure the strict enforcement of minimum health protocols this holiday season amid the coronavirus disease 2019 pandemic.
He said 134 enforcers from the Market Development and Administration Department (MDAD) recently underwent orientation and would be deployed to various public places, particularly in large public markets and areas where more people are expected to flock during the holidays.
“The additional personnel underwent training on the proper issuance of Ordinance Violation Receipts (OVR) to quarantine protocol violators,” San Diego said.
“Violators need to pay the fine within five days. If not, a case shall be filed with the prosecutor’s office and will be reflected on their record when they apply for police clearance,” he warned.
The city government also tapped the assistance of barangays to fully implement and enforce the minimum health protocols in the communities.
Mayor Joy Belmonte underscored the need for the strict enforcement of health protocols during the holidays to avoid a spike in COVID-19 cases.
“We ate anticipating that people would go out this Christmas. That’s why we added more personnel to enforce the protocols,” she said.
“If we will not do this, there is a big possibility that cases of COVID-19 to increase. Given the holidays, experts are predicting a surge. While we are ready for any eventuality, we would like to reinforce our efforts to campaign for a safer Christmas. That is why we would like to remind our citizens and those visiting our city to please follow all health protocols because this will be strictly enforced,” she added.
This season, the city government through its “Paskong QC: Mask Ligtas, Mask Masaya” campaign ramped up its call for everyone to strictly follow minimum health standards.
Public service advisories would be heard in public markets, and mall owners as well as billboard owners have agreed to show the city’s safe Christmas campaign.
Meanwhile, to advance its efforts on eco-friendly transportation, the Quezon City government has partnered with the Manila Electric Co. (Meralco) to produce and install three charging stations for electronic tricycles or e-trikes.
The three charging stations are in Batasan Hills TODA Terminal, Barangay Payatas Motorpool and at the Amoranto Sports Complex, Belmonte said.
The locations were chosen strategically since most of the e-trikes have been distributed to the tricycle associations operating nearby.
Last year, Belmonte started the distribution of some units of e-trikes donated by the Department of Energy to the city’s different barangays, including Batasan Hills, Payatas and Sacred Heart to introduce the new modes of transportation that are sustainable and environment friendly.
“These e-trikes complement our efforts to become a green city, which is one of our 14-point agenda. Through these, our e-trike drivers ferry our citizens while contributing to our environmental plans and goals,” she said.
Meralco constructed and installed the smart charging stations, including coin-operated charging pods for generating revenue and solar panels with net-metering service.
Each charging station would have four charging pods that can simultaneously accommodate eight e-trikes and would also have 2kW solar panels.
“We look forward to the time where almost all our tricycles have joined our crusade toward a sustainable tomorrow,” Belmonte said.