Gen. Guillermo Lorenzo T. Eleazar, chief of the Philippine National Police (PNP), reminded on Wednesday, March 12, all police commanders to exercise effective supervision in their area of responsibility as part of the government measures to contain the spread of the coronavirus disease (COVID-19).
Eleazar issued the reminder after the commander of the Police Community Precinct 9 in Caloocan City was sacked from his post for failure to prevent the mass gathering of hundreds of people who went to swimming activities at the Gubat sa Ciudad last week.
The Gubat sa Ciudad resort in Brgy. 171, Bagumbong, Caloocan City, which falls within the Caloocan City PCP 9 jurisdiction, has been shut down by the city government after opening its swimming pool to hundreds of people, including small children, amid the modified enhanced community quarantine in effect in Metro Manila and three nearby provinces.
The PNP chief said investigation is still underway to determine the culpability of the PCP 9 commander in the Gubat sa Ciudad incident.
“Bibigyan pa din natin sya ng due process (We will give him due process) But if the result of the probe shows that there is negligence on his part, he will definitely be charged. Maging nga ang chairman ng barangay na nakakasakop sa Gubat sa Ciudad resort hindi nakaligtas sa insidenteng ito (Even the barangay chairman which has jursidiction over the Gubat sa Ciudad will be held accountable on this incident),” said Eleazar.
“Ang mga pulis ang dapat naniniguro na nasusunod ang guidelines ng gobyerno ngayong may pandemya lalo na’t dito nakasalalay ang kaligtasan at kalusugan ng ating mga komunidad. Hindi tayo dapat magpabaya sa ating tungkulin (Policemen should ensure that all the guidelines of the government are followed this time of pandemic because what is at stake is the safety of our community. We should not be complacent in our job) ,” he added.