Philippine National Police (PNP) Chief Police General Guillermo Lorenzo T. Eleazar ordered on May 8 the arrest of civilians who are not wearing a face mask, in compliance with President Rodrigo Duterte’s order.
Eleazar assured the public that despite such an order, the police will still fully respect human rights.
“I understand the concerns of some people regarding the arrest of those not wearing face masks, but this is a needed measure to ensure compliance of the people to observe the minimum health safety standard protocol,” Eleazar said.
“I believe that most of the Filipinos are doing what needs to be done to protect themselves and their family, pero meron talaga tayong mga kababayan na hindi talaga mapakiusapan at patuloy na nagpapasaway. The President’s order is for these hard-headed people,” he added.
To ensure compliance with human rights policies, Eleazar ordered all PNP personnel to deal properly with violators and to exercise maximum tolerance.
“Puwede natin silang arestuhin, pero hindi natin sila dapat parusahan at lalong hindi natin sila dapat saktan. Kapag ginawa ninyo ito, mananagot kayo sa akin,” he said.
The PNP chief cited his experience as commander of Joint Task Force COVID Shield, saying that the infection rate always went down every time strict quarantine measures were implemented. He gave as examples the case in Metro Manila and nearby areas when Special Action Force commandos and soldiers were deployed last year, and in Cebu City when the same security forces were deployed amid the sudden rise of COVID-19 cases.
He added that the reduction of COVID-19 cases in the past days after the sudden upsurge of cases in March is more proof that strict quarantine measures work.
-PNP-PIO/PG-jlo
