2,875 Filipinos still detained for violating quarantine

Lian Buan

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2,875 Filipinos still detained for violating quarantine
In 76 days, the Philippine National Police charges a total of 57,177 Filipinos for quarantine violations

MANILA, Philippines – There are 2,875 Filipinos still in jails nationwide for violation of quarantine protocols, data from the Philippine National Police (PNP) showed.

As of May 31, there are 2,541 quarantine violators detained in Luzon, 111 in the Visayas, and 223 in Mindanao.

Metro Manila eased into general community quarantine (GCQ) on Monday, June 1, with most industries and sectors resuming operations albeit at a reduced capacity. The easing of the quarantine also means more people going outside.

From March 17 to May 31, police arrested and charged a total of 57,177 Filipinos for quarantine violations. Their records show 14,712 underwent inquest, while the rest were charged under regular procedures.

Inquest means the person was arrested without a warrant. (READ: In PH pandemic: Due process for allies, warrantless arrests for the rest)

All in all, the police have apprehended a total of 188,348 Filipinos for violating quarantine. Of that number, 107,794 were warned and 23,377 were fined.

The cases will overwhelm already congested prosecutorial and court dockets, as the judiciary scrambles to keep up with technology and to adjust to the “new normal.”

Because of high numbers of arrests, lawyers have had to become frontliners too.

Table from Philippine National Police

Crimes during quarantine

Most of the “focus crimes” went down during the quarantine period, or March 17 to May 31, compared to the number of such crimes from January 1 to March 16.

The most significant drops were in cases of theft and robbery.

From 3,894 theft cases from January 1 to March 16, there were 1,219 from March 17 to May 31. From 1,869 cases of robbery, the figure dropped to 585. Both are equivalent to a 69% decrease.

Physical injury cases also dropped to 1,139 from March 17 to May 31, from 1,903.

There were still 799 murder cases during quarantine, compared to 1,329 cases in the preceding months.

There were still 214 cases of homicide, compared to the previous 325.

And there were still 721 cases of rape, compared to the previous 1,519.

Chart from Philippine National Police

– Rappler.com

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Lian Buan

Lian Buan is a senior investigative reporter, and minder of Rappler's justice, human rights and crime cluster.