ILOILO City – All quarantine control points or checkpoints, including those manned by barangay officials, must be coordinated with the police, according to the Police Regional Office 6 (PRO-6).
“We have received complaints nga ang mga barangay officials salâ ang ila interpretation kun sin-o ang dapat pasudlon sa ila barangay,” said Police Lieutenant Colonel Joem Malong, information officer of the PRO-6.
This concern, however, appeared not unique to Western Visayas but happening in other parts of the country, too. Thus in a memorandum dated March 23 to regional police offices, the Philippine National Police (PNP) Directorate for Operations directed all unit commanders and chiefs of police to ensure that all established quarantine control points or checkpoints at the municipal and barangay levels were properly supervised and operated in accordance with the guidelines by the national government.
The move was in response to complaints arising from local government units and barangay officials crafting their own guidelines which caused undue delay in the delivery of cargoes carrying food and other basic necessities.
Malong said information reached the PRO-6 that food and water deliveries were being turned away at barangay checkpoints, to the consternation of residents.
“Some barangay officials do not understand the guidelines. This would be addressed to avoid misunderstanding,” Malong added.
On Wednesday the Department of Justice (DOJ) said village checkpoints must now be under police supervision to prevent misapplication of the rules on the enforcement of the enhanced community quarantine.
Aside from the “no police, no barangay checkpoint” policy, DOJ Undersecretary and spokesperson Markk Perete said the PNP “shall likewise orient barangay officials/officers on IATF [Inter-Agency Task Force] guidelines.”
Perete said ensuring the application of the same set of rules is necessary.
“We want people to strictly follow the quarantine rules to arrest the further transmission of the virus. We also need to ensure that those involved in food security and the continued provision of essential utilities will be allowed movement,” he said in a media statement.
The issuance by different barangays / local government units of different rules, especially those that impose undue restrictions not imposed by the IATF-MED [for the Management of Emerging Infectious Disease] “makes difficult the attainment of these objectives,” he said. (With a report from the Philippine News Agency/PN)
