The Department of the Interior and Local Government (DILG) ordered on Monday, March 8, all local government units (LGUs) and the Philippine National Police (PNP) to implement a crackdown on all quarantine violators and strictly enforce health protocols in all barangays.
Specifically, DILG officer-in-charge (OIC) Bernardo C. Florece, Jr. asked Joint Task Force Shield Commander Police Lt. Gen. Cesar Hawthorne Binag to increase police visibility and strictly enforce minimum public health standards in Pasay City, Malabon City, Navotas, Cebu City and Cebu Province which have registered upswings in COVIDS-19 cases.
The DILG order came after recent updates showed new cases breaching the 3,000 mark for three straight days since March 5.
Based on the latest Department of Health (DOH) case bulletin, the total number of active cases in the country reached 3,045 on March 5; 3,439 on March 6; and 3,276 on March 7. The same report disclosed that the COVID-19 cases in Metro Manila, Region 7 and Calabarzon reached 1,533; 491; and 341, respectively on March 7.
"Naging kampante ang ating mga LGUs maging ang PNP sa enforcement ng ating mga minimum health standards kayat inaatasan ko ang ating mga local officials kasama ang mga barangay at kapulisan na puspusang ipatupad ang basic health protocols sa lahat ng barangay sa ating bansa (The LGUs and even the PNP have become complacent in the enforcement of our minimum health standards that is why I ordered our local officials including the barangay and police force to intensify the implementation of basic health protocols in all the barangays in the country)," said Florece.
Florece stressed that wearing face masks and face shields and physical distancing should be strictly imposed in all LGUs and violators should be fined based on the prevailing ordinances.
The DILG official added that temperature checks and filling out contact tracing forms manually or through the Stay Safe app should also be a must in all establishments and workplaces.
He also ordered the deployment of additional contact tracers in areas with rising cases to aid the local contact tracing teams in identifying close contacts and having them tested.
With more people out on the streets, Florece directed the PNP to strictly enforce the prevailing curfews imposed by LGUs in certain areas which have been adjusted by some to 10 p.m. to 5 a.m.
“Violators should be fined or otherwise penalized for violating all health protocols,” he added.
Florece noted that the LGUs should have enacted local ordinances providing sanctions to those who violate the minimum health standards set by the national government through the Interagency Task Force on the Management of Emerging Infectious Diseases (IATF-MEID).
“If the ordinance they passed have no penal clause, they should immediately amend this because an ordinance with penalties have no teeth,” Florece stressed.
Florece pointed out that the LGUs can reverse the rising trend of coronavirus cases by ensuring no lag time from symptom onset, testing, contact tracing, and isolation and in strictly implementing the 10-day isolation and 14-day quarantine for those positive and with symptoms.
"LGUs should also see to it that there is good ventilation in work spaces and other settings to prevent the transmission of the virus," he noted.
He noted that the LGUs can implement localized lockdown within a town, city, sitio, street, or block without the need to request approval from the IATF.
Discipline is key
DILG Undersecretary and spokesperson Jonathan E. Malaya stressed the important role of the Barangay Disiplina brigades to prevent the spread of the virus.
"Let us politely call out each other if we observe simple breaches of health protocols. Huwag nating iasa lahat sa gobyerno at kapulisan. Bantayan natin ang isa't isa para ang lahat ay sumusunod, sa health guidelines ng IATF (Do not all rely on the government and police (maintaining health protocols). Let us guard one another to ensure that everybody adheres to the health guidelines of the IATF), Malaya said.
Malaya emphasized that a “small breach in protocols could lead to higher transmission of the virus more cases and possibly deaths.’’