Metro Manila (CNN Philippines, March 28) — Violators of the curfew set by authorities during the enhanced community quarantine period will still be arrested even without the presence of inquest officers, Department of Interior and Local Government Undersecretary Jonathan Malaya said on Saturday.
Malaya clarified the statement of Philippine National Police deputy chief of operations PLGen. Guillermo Eleazar, who said earlier today that violators are no longer subject to arrest.
“Tuloy pa rin yung panghuhuli ng ating mga pulis. Dadamputin pa rin po sila,” said Malaya in an interview with CNN Philippines’ Menchu Macapagal.
(Translation: Our police are continuing to arrest. The violators will still be held up.)
Malaya added they will coordinate with the Department of Justice to have skeletal workforce of inquest officers as most of them are on home quarantine.
“Ngayon kung walang inquest fiscal, we will release the suspect after 12 hours. Ngunit dadamputin pa rin po sila ng pulis,” he said.
(Translation: If there is no inquest fiscal present, we will release the suspect after 12 hours. But they will still be arrested by the police.)
Eleazar said there is a directive for all police to not arrest those who violate laws during the enhanced community quarantine.
“Nagbigay ng utos ang chief [ng] PNP na lahat ng curfew violators ngayon, hindi na po ikukulong, kukunin [na lamang] ang circumstances at ipa-file na lang namin. At large ang mga iyan para pagkatapis ng krisis na ito, pananagutan ‘yon ,” Eleazar said at a briefing by the Laging Handa, the government’s COVID-19 crisis communications platform.
(Translation: The PNP chief gave the order that all curfew violators will no longer be arrested. Instead, we will make notes of the violations and file them. They will remain at large so after this crisis, they will be made to answer for their misdeeds.)
The move was recommended by the Justice and the Interior secretaries, Eleazar said.
Pictures of alleged curfew violators being rounded up in cages and reports of others being made to stay under the sun for long periods have been posted on social media, triggering anger from some people who said rights were being violated.
Eleazar said these reports would be investigated, adding that the PNP ha has continuously reminded its people not to physically harm offenders.
