MANILA – The Armed Forces of the Philippines (AFP) has confirmed the existence of an internal memo on the supposed role of the Philippine Air Force (PAF) in a “martial law-like” enforcement of the Luzon-wide enhanced community quarantine.
AFP spokesman Brigadier General Edgard Arevalo said the leaked document was issued for the “purpose of providing advance information to give guidance to personnel – in this case the PAF.”
“Sa ngayon wala pa na namang utos ang Pangulo namagdeploy na,” Arevalo said. “But it is incumbent and customary on the part of the leadership of the Philippine Air Force, and the AFP under General Felimon Santos Jr. for that matter, to exercise its initiative of alerting and preparing our personnel including [rules of engagement].”
The leaked internal memo was in line with President Rodrigo Duterte’s statement that he would order military and police personnel to enforce “martial law-like” lockdown measures to control the increase of quarantine violations.
Based on Philippine National Police’s data (PNP) as of Saturday, a total of 126,302 violators of the quarantine were fined, apprehended or warned.
Meanwhile, Interior secretary Eduardo Año has ruled out a “total lockdown for the entire country,” saying what government intends to do is to implement the existing measure “on a very strict mode.”
He also clarified that government will not implement martial law, although a “martial law-style” implementation of the quarantine measures may be done in severely-affected areas where there are rampant violations./PN
