The Philippine National Police (PNP) is ready to enforce a total lockdown should President Rodrigo Duterte decide to implement it, the nation’s top cop General Archie Gamboa said today in a statement.
Gamboa also claimed that some local government leaders have expressed support for tougher measures against those who have violated Luzon’s quarantine, which was done to stop the spread of COVID-19.
Duterte warned last night that he might impose a martial law-like situation to stop the public from breaking quarantine rules. The president issued the threat after reports emerged that some Metro Manila residents were caught participating in cockfights, drinking with friends, and shopping in droves in wet markets. Photos also circulated on social media showing bumper-to-bumper traffic in the metro’s major highways.
Read: ‘Like Martial Law’: Duterte warns of military takeover if Filipinos continue to break quarantine
“Maybe some violators feel they can get away with our enforcement of quarantine rules and local ordinances, but only because we are not under ideal conditions to detain all law offenders, except to complete the mandatory requirements of documentation and booking,” the PNP chief said in his statement.
“Trust me, their brush with the law today will not go unpunished. There will be a day of reckoning for all lawbreakers when we shall find the appropriate time to directly file criminal charges in court to begin their agony of criminal prosecution,” he added.
Read: Quarantine violators reach 100,000, Filipinos urged to remain ‘vigilant’
Gamboa said that the PNP has “reacted with compassion” towards some violators who needed to leave their homes to purchase necessities but because many Filipinos have been breaking rules, the quarantine has become almost ineffective.
Enforcing the rules has also affected the PNP, and 65 cops have been infected with COVID-19, while three have succumbed from the disease.
He said the situation has led him to declare a crackdown on unauthorized travel on all major roads in Metro Manila. Gamboa said the PNP will also clampdown on all illegal activities “that constitute [a] violation of rules on physical distancing and gathering of persons, including illegal cockfight, card games, mah-jong, and drinking sessions in public places.”
