'Just passing through': Authorities confirm PNP retirees' Baler visit, insist no violations happened
MANILA, Philippines — (Updated 4:55 p.m.) The Philippine National Police confirmed a slew of viral posts alleging that police retirees visited the seaside Aurora town of Baler—officially closed to tourists since February 2020—as tourists and ate in a restaurant in the area before leaving.
A viral video posted to Facebook that has since been taken down shows the "motorcycle long ride of the Philippine Military Academy class of ’87" in the area.
"The retirees accordingly came to the place traversing the roads of Baler on their motorbikes and had lunch for an hour at Costa Pacifica and left for [the] Nueva Ecija area," Police Brig. Gen. Brandi Usana, PNP spokesperson, told Philstar.com in a text message.
In Executive Order No. 2021-0002 released on January 20 this year, the provincial government of Aurora said that all inbound and outbound travelers of whatever classification shall apply for access through the Aurora Ecov online Travel Application System and seek approval for passage through Provincial Control Points.
'Not a violation': In a phone call with Philstar.com, Police Col. Julio Lizardo, who serves as acting provincial director of the Aurora Provincial Police Office, said that no violations were committed because the retirees were just passing through.
He added that it was the Office of the Governor of Aurora that allowed the passage of the retirees, whom he said numbered "only" 25.
"Hindi naman kami locked down dito. Bawal lang ang leisure. Hindi naman leisure ang ginawa nila. Nag-motor lang, kumain tapos umalis...yung circumstance is dadaan, so saktong alas dose naman, so kumain sila sa isang restawran," he said.
(We're not under lockdown here. It's just leisure that's prohibited. What they did wasn't leisure. They just rode their motorcycles, then they ate and left. The circumstance was they were passing by. It was noon, so they just ate.)
"Yung pass, hindi gumagana, so pinag-require nalang naman ng medical certificate at saka RT-PCR. So meron naman."
(The [system] for the pass wasn't working, so we just required them to submit medical certificates and RT-PCR [test results]. And they did.)
Special treatment?: Others who don't have government positions or connections have been fined thousands, jailed, and even shot over social distancing protocols. Just days ago, on Friday, personnel from the Quezon City Police District and the QC Task Force Disiplina conducted what they called a "one time, big time" operation to apprehend quarantine violators.
According to QCPD, the operation "resulted in the apprehension of 1,594 persons" who, the city government said, were made to attend " a lecture on the ordinances pertaining to minimum health protocols in the city."
"They were also issued Ordinance Violation Receipts with a corresponding penalty of P300, P500, and P1,000 for the first, second and third offense respectively," the Quezon City local government said.
"Quite disappointing, Baler. If you chose to remain closed for the 'safety' of your residents, then have one set rule. However, let's not pick who gets to earn a living and who does not," the viral post, which alleged some 60 retirees visited the area, reads.
Tourism Secretary Bernadette Romulo-Puyat told Philstar.com in a text message that her department is "still verifying" the reports.
READ: Quezon City cop shoots 'mentally challenged' quarantine violator | First casualty? Agusan man shot dead at checkpoint
Mañanita celebrant sick?: This also comes days after Police Gen. Debold Sinas—the chief of the Philippine National Police, known for, among other things, a mañanita held during the lockdown last year—tested positive for the coronavirus after he, too, skirted health protocols.
In the aftermath of his birthday party amid the enhanced community quarantine, Sinas first denied throwing the celebration, and then later admitted to it but insisted it did not have any violations. He was eventually promoted to PNP chief.
As in many other cases of quarantine violations, the police justified the trip by saying they followed health protocols anyway. "For info, they had prior swab tests and observed minimum health protocols before they got to the place and [were] allowed by the locals to come in Baler," Usana added.
This comes amid the massive police deployment across Metro Manila to, according to PNP OIC Police Lt. Gen. Guillermo Eleazar, "compel the people to behave and eventually result in the reduction of COVID-19 cases."
Respect the authorities: "To the public, we also offer a formula to prevent unnecessary confrontation and spare yourself from arrest: 1. Respect the rules on observance of the minimum health safety standard protocols; and 2. Respect the authorities that are enforcing these protocols," Eleazar said in a statement Sunday.
Whether they followed health protocols as they rode motorcycles and dined in an area that banned leisure trips is beside the point.
Both viral posts have since been taken down as of this post.
Walking back statement: In a text message on Tuesday, Lizardo took back his earlier statement and said that Aurora Gov. Gerardo Noveras had no hand in approving the visit, which he said was a decision made by the provincial IATF.
Sought for comment, Noveras declined to go on record about the incident.
Earlier posts by Dipaculao police in Aurora showed local cops setting up "road security assistance" checkpoints to assist the motorcycle riders as they entered the province.
The Facebook post by Dipaculao Municipal Police Station admits to "conducting route security during Motorcycle Retirement Long Ride of TDC, Philippine Military Academy (PMA) Class '87 going to Baler to ensure the safety and security of all participants on March 13, 2021."
PMA Class '87 or the Hinirang class is the batch of Police Gen. Debold Sinas, the chief of the Philippine National Police.
READ: Whatever happened to: Quarantine violators in Philippine government
— with reports from Rosette Adel
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