President Rodrigo Duterte has ordered a stricter implementation of policies of the enhanced community quarantine due to the increasing number of violators.
The data of the Philippine National Police (PNP) show the number of those who violated ECQ protocols has reached 108, 088 as of April 13.
The Inter-Agency Task Force for the Management of Emerging Infectious Diseases said it will stringently impose the policy on Authorized Persons Outside of Residence (APOR) to address the issue and “the reported increase in number of vehicles traveling along EDSA” and in Metro Manila’s major roads.
IATF Spokesperson Karlo Nograles said the PNP-HPG has been ordered to implement starting today “the inspection of private vehicles to determine whether the driver and passengers belong to the list of APOR or not.”
He added that HPG will issue LTO-TOP or MMDA-OVR tickets to the drivers if they “or any of the passenger is unauthorized.”
Nograles said they continue to monitor the situation and assured the sufficiency of food and water supply amid the ECQ.
He also shared that those who consume below 50 kilowatt per hour or the “lifeline consumers” of electric cooperatives in the country will not be charged for their March and April electricity bills. – Report from Mela Lesmoras
