In coordination with Secretary of the Interior and Local Government Eduardo Año the Philippine National Police (PNP) led by General Camilo Pancratius Cascolan, the Joint Task Force COVID Shield instructed police commanders to intensify their intelligence-gathering and barangay-level coordination against illegal cockfighting and other forms of illegal gambling that violate the quarantine protocols.
Police Lt. Gen. Guillermo Lorenzo Eleazar, commander of the JTF COVID Shield, said they have been receiving reports that cockfighting, or tupada, are prevalent again in some parts of the country amid the quarantine protocols prohibition against mass gathering and for the observance of the minimum health safety standard protocols.
“Ilegal na nga ang ganitong gawain, parang binabastos pa nila ang ating gobyerno na walang tigil na nagta-trabaho at naghahanap ng sapat na pondo para lang sa proteksyon nila at ng kanilang pamilya laban sa COVID. Kailangang matigil ito at bigyan ng leksyon ang mga taong ito,” said PLt. Gen. Eleazar.
PLt. Gen. Eleazar made the statement as he lauded the Batangas Provincial Police Office led by Police Col. Rex Arvin Malimban for the successful operation against a tupada in Alitagtag, Batangas that led to the arrest of 14 people that include an incumbent municipal councilor, a barangay captain and a former vice mayor of the town.
Based on the report from the Batangas Provincial Police Office, the operation was conducted on September 30 based on the report of a concerned citizen about an on-going illegal cockfighting.
Among those who were arrested were Alitagtag Municipal Councilor Jerome Garcia, former Alitagtag vice mayor Manuel Gutierrez, and incumbent Dominador East Barangay Captain Antonio Chavez.
PCol. Malimban said all those arrested are facing cases of violation of Presidential Decree 1602 (Illegal Gambling), Republic Act 11469 (Bayanihan to Heal as One Act) and Republic Act 11332 (Mandatory Reporting of Notifiable Disease and Health Event on Public Health Concern Act).
PLt. Gen. Eleazar said the successful operation was in line with the directive of Chief PN General Cascolan for police commanders to reach out to the community not only on peace and order matters but also in preventing the Corona Virus Disease (COVID-19).
Chief PNP General Cascolan earlier spearheaded the Barangay COVID Defense, or BaCoD.
“The successful operation in Alitagtag, Batangas gives us all the idea of what we can achieve if the police and the community will work together to maintain peace and order and to protect every community from the coronavirus. We encourage our commanders to continue reaching out to the community because every person in the barangay plays a key role in the security and safety of every community,” said PLt. Gen. Eleazar.
The JTF COVID Shield earlier urged police commanders to ensure that all the hotlines and social media accounts of the police stations must be active in order to act on every complaint and concerns of the people in their Areas of Responsibility (AORs).
The JTF COVID Shield also created a Facebook page where netizens can report and send photos and videos of blatant quarantine violations.
