The Department of the Interior and Local Government (DILG) announced Friday, May 7, that it will immediately enforce President Duterte's order to apprehend violators of health protocols imposed by the government to stem the spread of the coronavirus disease (COVID-19).
“In order to sustain the decline in COVID-19 cases across the country, authorities must strictly implement and enforce all minimum health standards and protocols especially the proper wearing of face masks and face shields and the strict enforcement of curfew hours,’’ Año said.
Last Wednesday, Duterte ordered the arrest of individuals who are not wearing face masks properly while in public places. He said these include people who put their masks below their nose, exposing it to the threat of the virus.
The DILG chief revealed he instructed the Philippine National Police (PNP) to make such arrests always “in accordance with law and local ordinances" where violators will be warned and instructed to wear face mask or face shield properly.
If the individual continues to defy or refuses to comply, Año said that arrests may be made by the police in order to protect public health and safety.
He added that in the absence of a local ordinance, violators will be detained for a maximum of 12 hours and will be released if no charge is filed as provided in the Revised Penal Code.
“In case detention is necessary, I have directed Police Lt. Gen. Joselito Veracruz of JTF COVID Shield to instruct all police stations across the country to prepare detention areas that do not violate minimum health standards," Año said.
"They shall coordinate with the barangay and the LGUs so that additional facilities outside of police stations may be utilized for this purpose to prevent crowding and mass gatherings," he added.
On May 6, the DILG said it will harmonize the ordinances of local government units (LGUs) in order to intensify the operations against those who defy the implementation of the quarantine rules, particularly on the wearing of the face masks.
“We have to talk with the LGUs and the Philippine National Police (PNP) about the presidential directive and we have to reconcile the presidential directive and the ordinances passed by the LGUs,” DILG Undersecretary and spokesperson Jonathan Malaya said.
Malaya noted the DILG will have to discuss with the PNP to determine the parameters of the President’s recent order.
He stressed that varying sanctions against violators of the face mask regulation are enforced by the different LGUs in the country.
“But in light of the President’s pronouncements, we might need to do some recalibration and make necessary preparations because if we do some arrests, we will also need to prepare our detention cells because there might be a larger number of people detained than before,” he added.
While detaining violators in jails might pose health risks, Malaya said they will coordinate and create guidelines with the LGUs and the PNP to ensure the safe and efficient implementation of Duterte's latest order.