Eleazar offers formula to avoid confrontation with ECQ enforcers
Published Apr 27, 2020 12:00 am
By Aaron Recuenco
The commander of Joint Task Force (JTF) COVID Shield has offered what he describes as a simple formula to avoid confrontation between the enforcers of the enhanced community quarantine (ECQ) and the public: obey ECQ rules and respect the people enforcing them.
PNP Deputy Chief for Operations Guillermo Eleazar (PHOTO FROM PIO NCRPO / FACEBOOK / MANILA BULLETIN FILE PHOTO)
JTF COVID Shield commander Police Lt. Gen. Guillermo Lorenzo Eleazar issued the statement following a confrontation between a policeman and a resident of an exclusive subdivision in Makati City.
"We are living in an extraordinary time under the threat of a global pandemic, so we ask the public to bear with your PNP (Philippine National Police), your government, as stricter rules are being implemented to ensure your safety, our safety," Eleazar said.
"We understand that this is the first time that most of us are experiencing this kind of security situation, so we urge the public to keep in mind a simple formula to avoid unnecessary incidents like this : 1) obey ECQ rules, and 2) respect the people enforcing them."
PNP Deputy Chief for Operations Guillermo Eleazar (PHOTO FROM PIO NCRPO / FACEBOOK / MANILA BULLETIN FILE PHOTO)
JTF COVID Shield commander Police Lt. Gen. Guillermo Lorenzo Eleazar issued the statement following a confrontation between a policeman and a resident of an exclusive subdivision in Makati City.
"We are living in an extraordinary time under the threat of a global pandemic, so we ask the public to bear with your PNP (Philippine National Police), your government, as stricter rules are being implemented to ensure your safety, our safety," Eleazar said.
"We understand that this is the first time that most of us are experiencing this kind of security situation, so we urge the public to keep in mind a simple formula to avoid unnecessary incidents like this : 1) obey ECQ rules, and 2) respect the people enforcing them."
Eleazar explained that policemen, soldiers and other government workers were just tasked to ensure that the ECQ rules are strictly observed like home quarantine, physical distancing and wearing face mask outside the house.
PNP Spokesperson Brig. Gen. Bernard Banac said the PNP leadership has already ordered an investigation into the Dasmariñas Village incident.
But he said the initial investigation revealed that the foreign resident of Dasmariñas Village rudely confronted the policeman and even cursed at and pointed a finger on the law enforcer.
"This led to the point where police attempted to restrain Mr. (Javier) Parra but he resisted, as seen in a video footage taken by the tanod of Barangay Dasmariñas," Banac said.
The barangay chairperson of Dasmarinas Village, Rowena Hwang, said there was already an agreement between Salvador and Senior Master Sgt. Roland Von Madrona to settle the issue peacefully but she was surprised that a video taken by Salvador's wife was uploaded on an online news site which later became viral.
Banac reminded the public the PNP is enforcing ECQ rules and local ordinances in "the best interest of the public" amid the threat of the coronavirus.
He said the Makati Police is now preparing appropriate charges.
Eleazar added: "On our part, we are always accountable for our actions as public servants."
On Sunday (April 26) an altercation erupted between a policeman and Parra, a resident of Dasmariñas Village, Makati City, over the latter's household helper, who told her employer the cop was asking her to pay a fine for not wearing a face mask in public.
The Makati Police is conducting an inquiry into the incident.
Read more:Â Makati Police to sue Spanish man for disobeying, assaulting cop