There is no double standard in the implementation of Enhanced Community Quarantine rules amid the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic, the Joint Task Force Corona Virus Shield said Monday.
JTF CV Shield commander, Lt. Gen. Guillermo Eleazar made the remark after some unit owners of the Pacific Plaza Condominium in Taguig City complained against policemen who entered the condominium’s premises without authorization and allegedly accosted residents there for quarantine violations on Sunday afternoon.
“The ECQ Guideline is plain and simple: Stay at home and observe social distancing when going out of your house– anytime, anywhere, and regardless of your social status. Thus, that condo residential place and the people living there are not exempted,” Eleazar said in a statement sent to reporters.
He said the move shows that people, regardless of social status, can be arrested for violation of quarantine protocols.
“This is exactly the reason why we initiated a crackdown on private vehicles engaged in non-essential travels in the past days alongside with our aggressive operations against curfew violators,” Eleazar said.
As far as JTF CV Shield and the Philippine National Police are concerned, he said there is no difference between Unauthorized People Outside Residence walking or riding motorcycles on the streets to buy something in the public market and those on private vehicles queueing up to buy coffee at shops.
“We will both apprehend them for ECQ guideline violation,” Eleazar said.
In a statement, the National Capital Region Police Office said the operation stemmed from a call from the Taguig Mayor’s Office regarding a complaint on the continued operations of public amenities such as swimming pools inside the Avida Towers, Serendra and Pacific Plaza condominiums at the Bonifacio Global City, which violate quarantine rules and social distancing measures.
Taguig City officials on Monday asked the police to help them strictly monitor and enforce the ECQ protocol in subdivisions to ensure the safety of residents.
Taguig Mayor Lino Edgardo Cayetano confirmed that he has requested Taguig City police station to visit the establishment after his office received several reports that common areas, such us clubhouses, swimming pools and common gardens in several subdivisions and residential condominiums in the city are still open.
“I asked the Philippine National Police [PNP] and other relevant departments of the city to make sure that all rules on ECQ are strictly enforced,” he said.
Cayetano reminded residents that ECQ rules and regulations include the closure of common areas and spaces in subdivisions and residential condominiums, as these places are areas of congregation.
“This applies to both public and private establishments, as this is for the general welfare of everyone. The ECQ rules and regulations apply equally to all communities. Patas patas po dapat,” he said.
Cayetano said they will continue to be strict in reminding all residents of Taguig to follow ECQ rules. He added the city government and the PNP are ready to file charges against anyone who does not comply with the rules.
“We are doing this to keep everyone safe. Please help us, please help the PNP and all our frontliners. The first line of defense is the quarantine, let us not break that line. Our health facilities are already over capacity and our health workers are already overburdened with caring for the sick. Let us do our part in making things easier for them,” said Cayetano.
Last Saturday, the city government opened its own quarantine facility as the city continued its proactive approach in fighting the coronavirus disease.
The Lakeshore facility has 40 beds, and is only one of the five quarantine facilities in Taguig. Aside from a hospital bed, each cubicle also has hygiene kits, towels, anti-COVID kits with masks and thermometers, bedside table and chair and cabinets. The facility is also WI-FI ready.
The quarantine facility will be manned by nurses and barangay health workers
The city government would also put 200 additional beds in another facility for use in the fight against COVID-19.
Eleazar, meanwhile,said that officers from the BGC Police Community Precinct went to the area and requested for an incident report from the management of the three condominiums, to which Pacific Plaza refused to comply with.
This prompted PCP commander, Maj. Joseph Austria and his men to enter Pacific Plaza premises where they saw a number of persons hanging around the condominium’s swimming pool area. They requested everyone to leave the area and return to their units.
Austria informed the property manager of the strict implementation of ECQ related laws especially the wearing of masks and observance of social distancing which does not exempt private establishments like condominiums.
The property manager, however, talked back to Austria and insisted that their premises is COVID-19-free, hence, justifying the use of public amenities.
“The policemen are merely acting on the complaint from the city hall. The violators are not excused nor exempted from the national directive to use face masks, observe social distancing and the like. Being law-enforcers we are merely implementing the directives because as we all know, that is a common area and we are putting the life of the people inside that community at risk. The policemen politely communicated their intention to inform the management and the residents to observe the law. They did not expect such a disrespectful treatment from the management,” said NCRPO chief, Maj. Gen. Debold Sinas.
The incident is now under investigation to determine the appropriate charges that may be filed against the management of the establishment for violation of ECQ-related laws.
Eleazar, meanwhile, said there was no gun-pointing incident that happened at the condominium and Austria will still be asked to explain and investigated as part of their standard operating procedures.
“The JTF CV Shield, however, urges the administrators of condominiums and subdivisions to observe home quarantine and social distancing at all times. Otherwise, we will not hesitate to enforce the law in your areas,” he added.
Meanwhile, Cavite Gov.Jonvic Remulla has sought the help of the military in enforcing the lockdown to halt the spread of the virus, following several incidents of violation.
In his Facebook account, Remulla reported that about 90 percent of Cavite residents follow the lockdown while the 10 percent disobey it and could spread the respiratory disease.
“Nakakapikon! Kung kulang ang patakaran at pakiusap ay subukan ko naman kaya ang HIGPITAN ko ang padtupad nito,” he wrote.
(It’s infuriating! If the guidelines and requests are not enough, I will try to tighten the implementation.)
Remulla said he was coordinating with Interior Secretary Eduardo Año to tap soldiers and army reservists for the lockdown, adding that he would update his constituents about the plan on Monday night.
“Wala po sa loob ko ang manakit. Gusto ko lang patuparin ang batas para yung 10% ay tumino at ang 90% ay maisalba,” he said.
(I do not mean to hurt anyone. I just want to implement the law so that the 10 percent would behave well and the 90 percent could be saved.)
President Rodrigo Duterte had directed the military and police to prepare to take over lockdown implementation in communities, following reports of massive violations.
President Duterte warns that he would implement a martial law-like lockdown over COVID-19 quarantine violations.
The government put Metro Manila and the entire Luzon, home to about half of the country’s 100 million people, under lockdown until April 30 in a bid to contain the pandemic. Other regions have also imposed quarantine measures.
As of Sunday, the Philippines has recorded 6,259 cases of COVID-19, with 572 recoveries and 409 deaths.