Philippine National Police

Heavy police presence marks return of ‘NCR Plus’ to ECQ

Dwight de Leon

This is AI generated summarization, which may have errors. For context, always refer to the full article.

Heavy police presence marks return of ‘NCR Plus’ to ECQ

Police officers check on the identification of individuals passing the Bulacan-Caloocan border in San Jose Del Monte, Bulacan on Maonday March 29, 2021, during the start of the 1-week Enhanced Community Quarantine in NCR. Rappler.com

Rappler.com

An interior official says hundreds of deployed policemen are ‘social distancing patrollers’ tasked to break up mass gatherings

The national government deployed nearly 10,000 police personnel in the Greater Manila Area to enforce a new round of the Enhanced Community Quarantine (ECQ), the strictest lockdown measure under the Duterte administration.

In an interview with state-run PTV-4, Interior Undersecretary Jonathan Malaya said police personnel were manning 1,106 quarantine control checkpoints, which had been re-installed beginning Monday, March 29, in barangays and borders within Metro Manila, Bulacan, Rizal, Laguna, and Cavite, collectively known as “NCR Plus.”

Much of Luzon island was first placed under ECQ from March to May 2020 to quell the rising number of COVID-19 infections. Restrictions were gradually eased soon after.

“Meron pong 9,356 na kapulisan ang made-deploy po natin sa Greater Manila Area. Out of that number, ’yung 7,876 sa NCR po ’yan, kung saan mayroon tayong 929 checkpoints,” Malaya said.

(There are 9,356 policemen to be deployed in the Greater Manila Area. Out of that number, 7,876 policemen are assigned to NCR, where there are 926 checkpoints.)

The policemen are stationed at checkpoints across “NCR Plus” to ensure public compliance with an 11-hour curfew, from 6 pm to 5 am, until April 4.

Only Authorized Persons Outside Residence (APOR), workers, cargo vehicles, and public transportation are exempted from the curfew, as the ECQ compels the public to observe strict home quarantine.

Malaya added that policemen were deployed to public places to ensure that Filipinos were observing physical distancing.

“Mayroon tayong 693 na kapulisan na ikinakalat natin sa matataong lugar, mga public markets, para maging social distancing patrollers. Sila po ang magbibiyak ng mga mass gatherings,” Malaya said.

(Some 693 policemen were deployed to public places like markets to serve as social distancing patrollers. They will break up mass gatherings.)

Malaya expressed confidence that the Philippines is more prepared this time in implementing pandemic interventions.

“Mas maayos na po ang ating implementasyon ng quarantine protocols. Mas marami na tayong resources this time, at mas mahaba-haba na ang ating experience in defeating COVID-19,” Malaya said.

(We have better implementation of quarantine protocols this time. We have more resources, and more experience in defeating COVID-19.)

Metro Manila and nearby provinces’ reversion to ECQ on Monday came as the country recorded the same day an all-time high of more than 10,000 fresh COVID-19 infections, bringing the country’s active tally to more than 115,000.

What happened during ECQ 2020?

The implementation of ECQ in 2020 was marred by reports of human rights violations, allegedly committed by state security enforcers. Tens of thousands of people were arrested for supposedly violating quarantine rules.

A Rappler report in May 2020, nearly two months into the implementation of ECQ back then, showed that the Philippine National Police (PNP) applied the same rules of engagement in the pandemic as in its anti-drug operations. – Rappler.com

Add a comment

Sort by

There are no comments yet. Add your comment to start the conversation.

Summarize this article with AI

How does this make you feel?

Loading
Download the Rappler App!
Avatar photo

author

Dwight de Leon

Dwight de Leon is a multimedia reporter who covers President Ferdinand Marcos Jr., the Malacañang, and the Commission on Elections for Rappler.