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Manila Bulletin devider Philippines devider Police forces in Metro Manila, nearby regions placed under full alert amid COVID-19

Police forces in Metro Manila, nearby regions placed under full alert amid COVID-19

Published Mar 13, 2020 12:00 am
By Aaron Recuenco  Police forces in Metro Manila and four other regions in Luzon were placed under the highest security alert status amid the implementation of the community quarantine of the National Capital Region following an increase in the number of people infected by the coronavirus disease (COVID-19). Aside from Metro Manila, police units in Central Luzon, Calabarzon (Cavite, Laguna, Batangas, Rizal, and Quezon), Mimaropa (Mindoro Oriental and Occidental, Marinduque, Romblon, and Palawan) and Bicol region were also placed under full alert. Full alert is equivalent to the military’s red alert status, which means all uniformed policemen and all police resources must be available for specific peace and order tasks. A memorandum issued on Thursday and signed by Maj. Gen. Emmanuel Luis Licup, head of the Directorate for Operations, referred to President Duterte’s Proclamation No. 922 and the raising of the COVID-19 alert to Code Red Sublevel 2 as the basis for the declaration of full alert. Proclamation No. 922 declares a state of public health emergency throughout the Philippines. “In this regard, Full Alert Status has been declared to NCRPO, PROs (Police Regional Offices) 3, 4A (CALABARZON), 4B (MIMAROPA), and 5 effective 1 a.m. on March 13, 2020,” the police memorandum read. “Other PROs shall have the discretion to raise their alert level depending on the prevailing situation in respective AORs (Areas of Responsibilities),” it added. Licup said they will also activate the Police Reactionary Standby Support Force (RSSF) in case there is a need for police augmentation of local police units in response to the COVID-19 threat. Brig. Gen. Alex Sintin was tasked to head the RSSF on COVID-19. The Philippine National Police (PNP) was among the agencies tapped to implement the “community quarantine” of Metro Manila. Part of this measure was to restrict travel to and from the nation’s capital to slow down the spread of the virus. Meanwhile, transactions at the PNP National Headquarters in Camp Crame such as the processing for the firearms licenses, permits for security guards, and for the Highway Patrol Group are suspended and will resume on March 16.
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