MANILA – Local government unit (LGU) officials who refuse to abide by the enhanced community quarantine guidelines set by the national government could face criminal charges, President Rodrigo Duterte said.
Addressing local officials early morning yesterday, President Duterte urged them to comply with the guidelines issued by the Inter-Agency Task Force on Emerging and Infectious Diseases (IATF-EID).
“If you go beyond the standards that we have set, you are abusing your authority and you know that this can lead to administrative cases, or even worse, unless you stop what you’re doing… criminal cases cannot be far behind,” Duterte said.
Duterte’s warning came after Department of Interior and Local Government (DILG) spokesperson Jonathan Malaya said local government officials defying the rules, such as non-observance of social distancing reminders, will be slapped with gross negligence or insubordination charges.
Pasig City’s Mayor Vico Sotto recently asked the national government to exempt tricycles from the ban on public transportation saying he had allowed tricycles in his area to ferry health workers and emergency patients to hospitals in Pasig City.
Duterte directed the DILG and Department of Justice to “closely monitor the compliance of LGUs in the directives of the Office and to file the necessary cases against wayward officials.”
“Sundin na lang natin dahil para naman ito sa lahat [Let us obey because this is for everyone’s benefit]. Do not try to overdo things or think that you can do what you want to do because that is not allowed,” Duterte said.
“I know you have the mandate to deal with the emergencies affecting your localities. I was a mayor myself in case you have forgotten. But this is an emergency of national proportions and therefore, it is the national government that should call the shots,” he added.
Based on the latest count from the Department of Health, the country has 217 COVID-19 cases, with 17 deaths and eight recoveries./PN
