The Philippine National Police checkpoints — or what they call the quarantine control point (QCPs) — are back around Metro Manila after the implementation of the modified enhanced community quarantine due to the soaring cases of the coronavirus disease (COVID-19).
When the MECQ started on Aug. 4, the Philippine National Police (PNP) set up 434 QCPs manned by 7,780 personnel in Metro Manila, Bulacan, Laguna, Cavite and Rizal.
On the average, there are 10 policemen manning the QCPs or border control checkpoints, but in major thoroughfares like entry points of Metro Manila and other highly-urbanized cities, the number of policemen could be more than 20.
At the height of the ECQ which started in March, there were 4,400 QCPs that were set up around the country, at least 195 of them in Metro Manila, manned by more than 4,500 policemen, according to the data of the JTF COVID Shield.
JTF COVID Shield
Managing the QCPs is the JTF COVID Shield, the enforcement arm of the National Task Force on COVID-19 and the Inter-Agency Task Force on the Management of the Emerging Infectious Diseases (IATF). It is composed of the PNP, the Armed Forces of the Philippines, the Philippine Coast Guard and the Bureau of Fire Protection.
From the ridiculous to the serious
The police by now have many anecdotes about the many reasons they’ve heard from those trying to talk their way to pass the checkpoints. From the ridiculous to the serious, the policemen who manned the QCPs around Metro Manila seem to have heard it all.
Even Police Lt. Gen. Guillermo Lorenzo Eleazar, commander of the JTF COVID Shield, is ready to hear another ridiculous tale like the one he was told when he personally flagged down a vehicle at the boundary of Marikina and Rizal province during the ECQ.
The driver, shocked that it was a police general who had stopped him, failed to show any document to justify his travel. His excuse — he was on an errand to buy a kilo of garlic in Quezon City.
Eleazar said that numerous checkpoint stories in almost five months should give the public an idea of what policemen have to endure every day from the hundreds of people who pass the QCPs.
Other reasons are to find work so as to feed a family; to go back to work even if that work is not part of the essential industries; to seek medical attention; to visit family members in another city; to buy medicine in a pharmacy in another town.
“It is really a tough job for our personnel on the ground because aside from the risk of being infected, there is also the risk of losing one’s temper,” said Eleazar.
With the return of the checkpoints, the cops at the control points have been reminded to exercise maximum tolerance — no matter the reasons quarantine violators would give.
ATORs and company IDs
In order to ensure smooth travel on their way to work and back to their homes, Eleazar said that the public should be aware that only a limited number of people are allowed to be traveling out of their residences during the MECQ.
Those who can are known as the Authorized Person Outside Residence (APORs). They need a company ID or document that would show one is an employee of a company that is in the list of essential industries.
Eleazar reminded the public that the home quarantine and travel exemptions given to the APORs are intended for them to travel to their places of work only. He warned that those exemptions should not be used to make a sidetrip to other destinations.
Eleazar said they already advised policemen manning the checkpoints to scrutinize the home address and office address of the APORs passing the Quarantine Control Points.
When to get travel authority
When one needs to travel crossing the borders of at least two provinces, Eleazar said that the traveler needs to secure a Travel Authority from the nearest police station.
The requirement for the issuance of Travel Authority is a Medical Clearance Certificate from the city or municipal health office, or any Department of Health-accredited hospitals.
The Golden Rule
Amid cases of confrontation between policemen and quarantine violators that would lead to arrest and filing of charges, Eleazar has issued a simple formula to prevent unnecessary trouble at the border control points:
For the civilians: Obey the community quarantine guidelines; respect the authorities enforcing it.
For the law enforcers: Observe maximum tolerance; respect and adhere to the human rights of civilians.