By Fernan Angeles
IF the numbers are to be the gauge of the government’s priority, the contamination may as well be just the second on the government’s list.
In a news dispatch, the Joint Task Force Covid reported the apprehension of more than 300,000 quarantine violators since President Rodrigo Duterte imposed strict lockdown protocol on March 17, in view of the pandemic threat.
Working closely with the Philippine National Police, the Joint Task Force COVID, hinted at a sustained effort that would strictly limit the unnecessary movement of people amid the threat of the coronavirus disease (COVID-19).
Police Lieutenant General Guillermo Lorenzo Eleazar, commander of the JTF COVID Shield, said all the violators who were arrested since March 17 were warned, fined and charged depending on the existing anti-COVID related ordinance of the local government units (LGUs) which is mainly utilized in the enforcement of quarantine rules.
Eleazar said the increase in the number of COVID-19 cases comes with the increase in the number of quarantine violators accosted for defying the rules against unnecessary travels and other non-compliance to the minimum health safety standard protocols such as wearing of face masks and observance of proper physical distancing.
The JTF COVID Shield also continues to receive reports for violations of quarantine rules at the community level such as engaging in drinking sessions, holding and attending parties and other celebrations and even gambling.
“The success and failure of our fight against COVID-19 depends on the cooperation of our kababayan. The more they defy and challenge the rules set by the government to prevent the spread of the coronavirus, the more they make it difficult for our government to protect them,” said Eleazar.
“On the part of the JTF COVID Shield, we will continue to maximize what we have to strictly enforce the quarantine rules because what is at stake here is the lives of the Filipino people and the fate of our country,” he added.
Based on the JTF COVID Shield data, a total of 308,859 have been apprehended from March 17 to August 10, or within the 147 days of the strict implementation of quarantine rules. From that figure, 47 percent of them or 146,012 were warned; 25 percent or 77,190 were fined while the rest of the 28 percent were charged.
The number of the accosted violators further increased as the JTF COVID Shield included the data on violation of motorcycle pillion riding since July 10. Violators of motorcycle back-riding from July 10 to July 31, however, were just warned as they were given 22-days to comply with the motorcycle barrier requirement for pillion riding.
But since the rules on pillion riding were strictly implemented on August 1, a total of 16,927 were apprehended across the country.
Due to the limited number of government law enforcers, Secretary of the Interior and Local Government Eduardo Año supported the move to mobilize the barangay tanod and the Public Order and Safety personnel of the LGUs to augment the police and the military who are enforcing the quarantine rules.
“Ang susi sa pagpapatupad ng quarantine protocols ay nasa barangay talaga, walang iba,” said Año.