One can almost hear the eagerness in Philippine National Police (PNP) chief Guillermo Eleazar’s voice as he goes about dictating what we may and may not do during the hard lockdown that began Friday.
Even days before the two-week lockdown aimed at curbing COVID-19 infections began, Eleazar caused a stir by barring those unauthorized to leave their homes from driving essential workers to and from their places of work.
Essential workers such as those working in hospitals and industries allowed to operate during the lockdown or government employees, known by the ugly acronym APOR (authorized persons outside of residence), could no longer be driven to and from work by non-APOR members of their family or friends, the police chief declared. This, he said, was to prevent people from using this as an excuse to drive around outside their homes for non-essential business.
Among those that objected was the Commission on Human Rights, which said that while restrictions were understandable, health workers and employees of other essential industries should not be deprived of the right to a safe way of going to and from their workplaces.
Under fire, the police chief reversed the policy a day later but added bureaucratic obstacles to make it harder for people to give essential workers a ride.
Non-APORs, he said, must present the following documents at checkpoints: the APOR’s employment certificate, a document indicating the name of the APOR’s designated driver, vehicle information, and contact number and a copy of the APOR employer’s business permit.
Amid all the anxiety and hardship that we are already under, we are compelled to ask, does the national police chief feel the need to make things even more difficult?
Really, Herr Commandant? A business permit? Wouldn’t the employment certificate suffice? And why must there be a designated driver? What if that particular family member is sick on a given day? What would be so bad about letting another do the drive?
And even assuming there are people who do want to break the stay-at-home rules, where would they go? The entire metropolis is on lockdown. There are no malls or other crowded places they can go to congregate and risk infection. Why make things even more difficult for essential workers and their families, merely to stop a handful of undisciplined persons who have nowhere to go, anyway?
Not content with these restrictions, the police chief has also declared “little bubbles” within the National Capital Region (NCR) bubble, and will set up checkpoints to prevent travel between cities inside Metro Manila.
Again, what is the cost of setting up roadblocks on city boundaries, as opposed to the perceived benefits?
We are all trying to keep safe in a pandemic. That doesn’t mean we all agree to live in a police state—even if it is just for two weeks. If the police chief really wants to protect us, he is going about it the wrong way.