The Medical Reserve Force of the Philippine National Police (PNP) has been placed on standby to assist in the medical needs of evacuees and other residents of Batangas following reports that the hospitals in the province are already full of patients infected by the coronavirus disease (COVID-19).
PNP chief Gen. Guillermo Lorenzo T Eleazar said the PNP Medical Reserve Force could be tapped especially the local government units of Batangas are planning to conduct vaccination at the vaccination sites.
"The people of Batangas are facing two tragedies (COVID-19 and Taal Volcano rumbling) and I admire them for their resilience. But we also need to support them that is why I ordered our Medical Reserve Force to be ready for possible deployment to Batangas to assist in attending to the medical needs of the evacuees," said Eleazar in a press briefing at Camp Crame in Quezon City on Monday, July 5.
On Sunday, Eleazar visited some of the evacuation centers in the municipalities of Laurel and Agoncillo to check on the condition of the evacuees and assess the security and other needs of those affected by the Taal Volcano rumblings.
Aside from security and medical assistance, Eleazar also vowed to provide other needs of the evacuees, the reason why he visited the evacuation centers on Sunday.
Eleazar also reiterated that PNP personnel are ready to secure and enforce minimum public health safety standards in evacuation facilities to prevent the further spread of the coronavirus. Police assistance desks have also been set up to extend aid to evacuees.
He also ordered the strict implementation of police checkpoints to prevent residents from returning to their homes in the Permanent Danger Zone or in other restricted areas amid the current status of Taal Volcano, which remains under Alert Level 3.
State volcanologists have been continuously warning the local residents on possible eruption of the volcano anytime due to its increased volcanic activities in the past days.