THE Philippine National Police’s (PNP) unit commanders in Metro Manila were instructed to assess and coordinate with their local government units (LGUs) to see if there is a need to add more police personnel for deployment in public and leisure areas.
The instruction was made by PNP Chief, Police General Guillermo Eleazar following the downgrading of Alert Levels System in the National Capital Region (NCR) to Level 3.
During the first weekend of the Alert Level 3 implementation, a number of people flocked to public areas including churches across the metro, the Dolomite Beach at the Baywalk in Manila along Roxas Boulevard, the Marikina River Park, the Quirino Grandstand, and the Mall of Asia grounds.
A number of people also went outside for their outdoor exercises.
“I have tasked all concerned police offices to determine if there is a need to deploy more cops to enforce the minimum health standards. We still need to ensure the safety of our kababayan because this might become a cause for the increase of COVID-19 cases in the NCR,” PGen Eleazar explained.
“If we really want the number of COVID-19 cases to continue to go down, discipline and strict observance of guidelines under Alert Level should be followed. Not because restrictions were eased, that should not mean we will just go out of our homes and disregard health and safety protocols,” he added.
Meanwhile, PGen Eleazar said they would wait for the decision of the IATF regarding the mobility of minors amid the easing of some protocols and opening of more business establishments.
“We at the PNP are just enforcers of the law and regulations. We will just wait for the resolutions regarding the issue and we will enforce it properly,” PGen Eleazar said.
(PHOTO CREDIT: pna.gov.ph)