Metro Manila (CNN Philippines, April 25) – The Philippine National Police started on Saturday to implement the zero tolerance policy for COVID-19 quarantine violators.
PNP Chief PGen. Archie Gamboa announced last Tuesday such stricter shift in the police force’s action towards quarantine violators as a response to President Rodrigo Duterte’s frustration on the continuous violation of home quarantine and social distancing rules.
Joint Task Force COVID-19 Shield Commander PLt.Gen. Guillermo Eleazar reminded that quarantine violators will not be warned and will face immediate arrest.
Those who will be arrested, according to Eleazar, are those violating quarantine guidelines, such as going out of house if not included in the Authorized List of Persons Outside Residence, not observing physical distancing, and not wearing face masks.
“As such, this serves as a warning to all that your JTF COVID Shield, your policemen and your soldiers, are no longer warning violators. They arrested all the violators and they will continue to do so,” said Eleazar.
Based on the data provided by the PNP, there were a total of 145,940 quarantine violators reported from March 17 to April 24.
Only 35,270 of the total quarantine violators were actually arrested, while some 103,781 individuals were just warned and allowed to go mostly for humanitarian consideration. The remaining 6,889 violators were fined since there are ordinances of the local government units, which include imposing fine as a form of sanction, especially for first time violators.
Eleazar clarified the number of violators reported are actually on a downtrend since March 17.
The highest number of violators reported was on the first day of the Luzon-wide enhanced community quarantine implementation on March 17 at 8,205.
The April 24 report on curfew violators, which is at 1,488, was the lowest recorded in the 39-day implementation of the ECQ.
“The increase on the number of violators arrested can be attributed to our zero tolerance policy, meaning, not a single violator was warned on April 24. They were either arrested or fined,” added Eleazar.
The ECQ was extended yesterday by President Duterte up to May 15 in some areas of Luzon, particularly Metro Manila, CALABARZON, and Central Luzon regions.
