By Zaldy Comanda
BAGUIO CITY – The city government is condemning as “callous, petty and outright selfish” the attempts of some camps to smuggle persons into the city without any concern for the fight against the spread of the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19).
In a resolution by the City Council, it was urged that the Baguio City Police Office ensures the strict monitoring of the city’s borders and enforce the penal provisions of Republic Act (RA) 11496 or the Bayanihan To Heal Us One act to deter similar occurrences.
The resolution stated that pursuant to the age-old saying “the needs of many outweigh the needs of a few”, “there is a need for the city legislative body to declare the acts of all those involved in the smuggling of persons in the city as callous, petty, and outright selfish as it was done without due consideration to the greater interest of the whole city in its fight against the dreaded COVID-19”.
The resolution also condemned the action of some vehicle owners who allegedly abused their privilege of being exempted from the travel ban.
It will be recalled that during a random inspection along Marcos highway over the weekend, BCPO personnel reportedly discovered that a truck belonging to H&E Fruits and Vegetables Trading was allegedly caught trying to sneak in three residents of Irisan, San Luis and Kias into the city.
This confirmed various reports of similar acts received by the city government.
The resolution asserted that the city government was strict in enforcing the prescribed guidelines of the ongoing Luzon-wide enhanced community quarantine (ECQ), which includes the restrictions into the entry into and exit from the city that started last March 28, with only vehicles delivering food, medicines and other essentials being exempted from the travel ban.