Quezon City Mayor Joy Belmonte has condemned a Facebook post written by one of her officials, who said that he would shoot to death those who violate modified enhanced community quarantine (MECQ) guidelines, but said that she understands the latter's frustration.
"Ang pahayag po ng pinuno ng Task Force Disiplina na si Konsehal Rannie Ludovica ay amin pong kinokondena. Ito po ay mali (We condemn the pronouncement of our Task Force Disiplina head, Councilor Rannie Ludovica.This is wrong). It is inappropriate, it is irresponsible," Belmonte said on Tuesday (Aug. 4) in a public briefing.
"Whatever is posted is personal and has absolutely no relationship whatsover with the policies, principles, and programs of the city government," she added.
Belmonte's remarks came after Ludovica earned a backlash after posting on his Facebook account on Monday : "Mula bukas shoot to kill na ang lalabag sa MECQ (Starting tomorrow, we will shoot to kill MECQ violators)."
Although she denounced Ludovica's words, Belmonte said she understands the latter's "frustration," saying the official is among the frontliners who see no hope in containing the spread of the virus despite the all-out effort being given by the government and health care workers.
"Binanggit po ni Mr. Ludovica sa akin na ang kanyang pahayag ay nagmula sa kanyang frustration. Frustrated po siya sapagkat limang buwan na po tayong nagpapapalala sa mga tao… Pero matapos ang limang buwan ay napagmamasdan pa rin natin ito (Mr. Ludovica told me that his pronouncement came from his frustration. He's frustrated because it's been five months that we've been reminding our constituents about health protocols… But after five months, he noticed that there are still violators)," Belmonte said.
In one of his Facebook posts, Ludovica uploaded a video of about a dozen men engaging in a cockfight.
"Tingin niya 'yan ay naging dahilan kung bakit tumaas ang bilang natin at naging dahilan kung bakit napilitan po ang ating pamahalaan na ibalik po sa MECQ (He thought that this was the reason why our COVID-19 cases continue to rise and this was the reason why the national government was forced to return to MECQ)," Belmonte added.
Belmont said Ludovica has asked for an apology and gave his assurance that he would not do it again.
In a statement, Ludovica clarified that he made the post as he was "dismayed" about Metro Manila's return to MECQ.
He even hit news website Rappler for reporting about his alarming post, saying it presented "malicious information" by making his post "look like" it was the policy of the local government.