The head of the Quezon City local government's Task Force Disiplina Rannie Ludovica clarified that there’s no “shoot-to-kill” order for violators of the modified enhanced community quarantine (MECQ) in the city.
Ludovica recently came under fire for threatening the public of a “shoot-to-kill” policy for MECQ violators in a Facebook post.
“Mula bukas, shoot to kill na ang lalabag sa MECQ (Starting tomorrow there will be a shoot-to-kill order for MECQ violators),” Ludovica said in a Facebook post which has now been deleted.
Ludovica said his post was “personal” and does not reflect the Quezon City government's policies.
The Task Force Disiplina head added that his post was just an expression of dismay over the reverting back of Mega Manila from a general community quarantine to MECQ.
“Nagmula ang nasabing personal na Facebook post ng inyong lingkod sa aking pagkadismaya sa pagbalik natin mula sa GCQ to MECQ. (I was just expressing dismay over the fact that we reverted back from GCQ to MECQ),” he said.
“Patuloy na tumataas ang bilang ng COVID-19 sa lungsod at buong bansa dahil sa kawalan ng disiplina ng karamihan sa ating mga mamamayan at paglabag nila sa batas (The number of COVID-19 cases in the city and in the entire country continues to rise because of the lack of discipline of most of our citizens),” he added.
Ludovica also urged the public to follow health protocols and quarantine guidelines to help stop the spread of the virus.
Mayor Joy Belmonte said that while Ludovica’s post was not “intended to be taken literally,” it was still “very wrong and in very poor taste.”
“I see it more as an expression of frustration that five months into the quarantine, the cases still keep growing, partly because people can’t seem to comply with minimum health standards,” Belmonte told ABS-CBN.
“I’d like to assure the people of Quezon City that his personal post in no way reflects our city's policies, principles, and inclinations,” Belmonte added.