“Be mindful of the additional restrictions under Modified Enhanced Community Quarantine (MECQ), which will be in effect until the end of this month,”
This was the reminder of the Philippine National Police (PNP) to Metro Manila residents since it is currently under MECQ until the end of August, along with the provinces of Laguna and Bataan, according to the Inter-Agency Task Force for the Management of Emerging Infectious Diseases (IATF).
PNP Chief Police General Guillermo Eleazar said that unlike the MECQ implemented in April this year, there are additional guidelines issued by the IATF as part of the measures to contain the spread of the coronavirus disease (COVID-19) amid the continuous rise of cases in the past days due to the Delta variant.
“What is the difference of this MECQ to the ECQ? More permitted industries and establishments were allowed to operate and this means more Worker-APORs (Authorized Persons Outside Residence) will go out,” said PGen Eleazar.
The Chief PNP stressed that the restrictions are still the same for Consumer-APORs, saying they are only allowed to go out during non-curfew hours.
However,, he said that in consultation with Metro Manila Council President and Parañaque City Mayor Edwin Olivarez, LGUs in the NCR are given the discretion on whether or not they would implement the quarantine pass system for their respective constituents.
NCR’s curfew hours are from 8 p.m. to 4 a.m.
PGen Eleazar said that only one Consumer-APOR will be allowed to go out per household and all of them will not be allowed to cross borders to avail of the goods and services of the permitted industries and establishments.
“Consumer-APORs are then advised to avail of the goods and services within their respective cities,” Eleazar said.
He said that in the case of Metro Manila, the concept of tiny bubbles will still be applied, meaning, each of the 17 LGUs in the National Capital Region will have border control points, or Quarantine Control Points that are manned and supervised by policemen.
PGen Eleazar explained that unlike the MECQ which was implemented in Metro Manila in April this year, today’s MECQ implementation is stricter especially when it comes to mass gathering.
“If before there was al fresco dining, or outdoor dining services, under this MECQ those are not allowed and for religious gatherings when venue capacity was up to 10 percent, now it is not allowed. Religious activities under today’s MECQ will be purely online services,” said PGen Eleazar.
PGen Eleazar said he reiterated the additional rules on MECQ in order to avoid confusion and misunderstanding as some people would misinterpret the new quarantine status to mean that they could already cross borders.
He then appealed for understanding on the restrictions, saying it is the decision of the IATF that the PNP has to implement for the sake of public safety.
“These guidelines will be the basis of the PNP in guarding checkpoints and other areas where individuals will go, and to make sure that if they are allowed to go out, they will be observing minimum public health standards,” said the PNP Chief.