By Aaron Recuenco
The Highway Patrol Group (HPG) arrested on Monday a motorist who was caught allegedly using a falsified document purportedly signed by Interior Secretary Eduardo Año to pass through Quarantine Control Points (QCPs).
(JTF COVID SHIELD / MANILA BULLETIN)
Aside from a string of criminal charges that would be slapped against him, the vehicle driven by Roy del Rosario was also impounded for illegal use of siren, blinkers, and license plates.
During Monday’s inspection along Commonwealth Avenue, Lt. Gen. Guillermo Lorenzo Eleazar, commander of the Joint Task Force COVID Shield, chanced upon Del Rosario while being flagged down by HPG operatives driving a sports utility vehicle.
When checked, the vehicle has more than one passenger inside the vehicle. The driver also showed a certification purportedly issued by Año for him to be exempted from being checked at the police-manned QCPs.
“I immediately checked with an official of the Department of the Interior and Local Government (DILG) who told me that the document was fake. That’s why he was arrested,” said Eleazar.
Eleazar said that the documents stated that Del Rosario is a member of the Inter-Agency Task Force for the Management of the Emerging Infectious Diseases (IATF) engaged in transporting important equipment and medical supplies.
The document also instructs the Philippine National Police to allow the vehicle being driven by Del Rosario for mandatory passage on all control points and the use of siren and blinkers.
“He was using a siren and was so arrogant when confronted. When we found out that the signature in the document is not the signature of Secretary Año, we impounded his vehicle and we will file criminal charges against him that include falsification of public documents,” said Eleazar.
Following the incident, Brig. Gen. Eliseo Cruz, HPG director, instructed his men to be alert against fake documents being shown by motorists just to be exempted from the implementation of the enhanced community quarantine (ECQ).
More than 30 motorists have been apprehended for violation of the ECQ since Wednesday.
Cruz said they will conduct daily operations against private vehicles to ensure that the ECQ guideline is strictly observed.