THE Philippine National Police (PNP) warned drivers of public utility vehicles (PUVs) to ensure strict adherence to the minimum public health standards amid continuous reports of blatant violations of the rules especially in passenger buses and jeepneys.
PNP Chief Police General Guillermo Eleazar said the police, particularly the Highway Patrol Group (HPG) and those assigned to man and supervise border control points, have already been instructed to issue traffic violation tickets to operators and drivers of PUVs especially at the National Capital Region (NCR) and the adjacent provinces of Bulacan, Laguna, Rizal and Cavite.
In a memorandum issued to the Director of the HPG and the Regional Directors of NCRPO, PRO3 and PRO4A, the Directorate for Operations headed by Police Maj. Gen. Alfredo Corpus ordered PNP personnel to issue Temporary Operators Permit (TOPs), Official Violator’s Receipt (OVR) and Traffic Citation Tickets to violators.
“This pertains to the reports received by the Directorate (for Operations), which disclosed unabated incidents of overloading, violations of minimum public health standards, and violations of allowed passenger capacity as prescribed by the IATF (Inter-Agency Task Force on the Management of Emerging Infectious Diseases) and DoTr’s guidelines committed by public utility buses and jeepneys, particularly in NCR Plus areas,” the memorandum read.
“We will be very strict in the implementation of this as part of our efforts to contain the spread of the coronavirus. That is why we would like to remind operators and drivers of PUVs to comply if they don’t want to be issued tickets,” said PGen Eleazar.
He said those manning and supervising the Quarantine Control Points (QCPs) in Metro Manila and four adjacent provinces will be provided with the TOPs, OVRs and TCTs since part of their job is to check if the passing PUVs are complying with the rules on allowed passenger capacity and minimum public health standards.
The PNP Chief said that these tickets will be issued if policemen would accost any passenger who does not properly wear face masks and if the PUVs are carrying passengers more than the maximum allowed number.
HPG personnel, on the other hand, will be conducting random checks in Metro Manila and four adjacent provinces and were tasked to do the same.
Part of the order, according to Eleazar, is for those manning the border control points or QCPs to inspect all the passing buses and jeepneys and to ensure that the no travel policy on non-APOR (Authorized Persons Outside Residence) is implemented.
“So we are appealing to the drivers to ensure that their passengers are complying with these rules because you will be the ones to suffer if you are accosted. You are the bosses of the bus and jeepney you drive so it’s your obligation to ensure that passengers strictly comply with the guidelines,,” said PGen. Eleazar.
(PHOTO CREDIT: pna.gov.ph)