PNP: Smooth 1st day of GCQ implementation

MANILA, Philippines — The first day of the implementation of the general community quarantine (GCQ) in many parts of the country went smoothly, a ranking police official said yesterday.

Lt. Gen. Guillermo Eleazar, joint task force COVID shield commander, said the effect of the full implementation of the GCQ would likely be felt tomorrow.

“Yesterday (May 1), it went generally well. It fell on a holiday, then Saturday, Sunday. It gave law enforcement agencies time to prepare. We’ll see the real effect on Monday,” he said at a Laging Handa briefing.

Eleazar said there will be more mobile checkpoints and greater police visibility this week in areas under GCQ.

Checkpoints will be randomly deployed to avoid too much congestion, he said.

Quarantine violators, Eleazar warned, will be “in serious trouble” if caught at checkpoints.

The police official said more beat patrollers would be deployed in places of convergence to ensure that basic quarantine protocols are observed.

“The intensified police visibility is aimed at ensuring that while the restrictions are lessened under GCQ, the basic rules to protect the people from coronavirus like physical distancing and wearing of masks are still observed,” Eleazar added.

He appealed to the public to always observe quarantine rules and respect authorities even under GCQ.

Over 156,000 quarantine violators have been accosted by police since the start of the community quarantine on March 17.