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Police to enforce quarantine rules in barangays alongside 'tanods'
Police to enforce quarantine rules in barangays alongside 'tanods'
The Joint Task Force COVID Shield has started preparations for the strict implementation of quarantine rules at the barangay-level requiring the appointment of a police supervisor that would lead barangay security officers or tanods in enforcing the mandatory wearing of face masks and the observance of physical distancing, among others.
Police Lt. Gen. Guillermo Lorenzo Eleazar, commander of the JTF COVID Shield, said that he had already instructed all police commanders to appoint a Quarantine Rules Supervisor (QRS) in barangays across the country "for the start of our community-level enforcement of minimum health safety protocols in the fight against the Corona Virus Disease (COVID-19)."
The police QRS, or the PNP’s COVID Focal Persons will be present in more than 42,000 barangays to supervise the implementation of quarantine rules including the prohibition of mass gatherings.
“According to Secretary of the Interior and Local Government Eduardo Año, there should be a whole of government approach in the fight against COVID to ensure that we defeat the virus. That is why we are enlisting all government law enforcers down to the barangay level to make sure that every community in the country is covered in our effort to prevent further transmission of the coronavirus,” Eleazar said.
"The cooperation and regular coordination between the PNP and the barangay officials will greatly help in ensuring the proper and strict enforcement of the quarantine rules. The barangay-level strict enforcement of minimum health safety rules will synchronize the efforts of the national government and the Local Government Units (LGUs),” he added.
Based on the complaints and reports received by the JTF COVID Shield, most Filipinos have become quite complacent since quarantine restrictions were eased in almost all parts of the country with residents at the barangay level reportedly shunning the use of face masks and converging again for drinking sessions and gossip.
Eleazar explained the presence of policemen in the barangays would send a strong message to every member of the community that they should behave and follow quarantine rules, or face the consequences of their complacency or hardheadedness.
Aside from the barangay tanod, Eleazar said the City and Municipal Public Order and Safety will also assign personnel to enforce quarantine rules especially in public markets and other places of convergence.
Eleazar said that all the designated QRS or PNP COVID Focal Persons are expected to regularly submit a report of quarantine rules implementation in the barangays they were assigned to.