SAF commandos to remain in Cebu City

MANILA, Philippines — Members of the police Special Action Force (SAF) deployed in Cebu City will remain in the city when the city shifts to general community quarantine (GCQ).

In a press briefing with Central Visayas police director Brig. Gen. Albert Ignatius Ferro, Maj. Gen. Melquiades Feliciano, Inter-Agency Task Force deputy chief implementer in Cebu, said the areas placed under lockdown will remain guarded even under a more relaxed GCQ.

Feliciano said SAF commandos would continue to assist the police in patrolling areas to be placed on lockdown.

“Kung GCQ man, merong zoning or lockdown. We can specifically determine the presence of the virus... We can have a surgical approach to the situation,” Feliciano said.

He said this means that providing appropriate intervention would be more “manageable.”

Environment Secretary Roy Cimatu, whom President Duterte tasked to oversee the coronavirus disease 2019 or COVID-19 response in Cebu City, had earlier said the city is likely to be downgraded to GCQ on July 16.

At least 150 SAF commandos, including their mobility assets such as multi-purpose armored vehicles, were deployed in Cebu City on June 26 to help enforce enhanced community quarantine protocols.

Intensified border patrol

Meanwhile, police have intensified border patrol in the Visayas to prevent the entry of locally stranded individuals (LSIs).

Lt. Gen. Guillermo Eleazar, Philippine National Police (PNP) deputy chief for operations, instructed police units in Eastern Visayas, Western Visayas, Cebu and Mactan to strengthen border control measures, citing reports that LSIs are sneaking into the areas despite a travel ban.

“We have been receiving reports that some LSIs are illegally entering... using small boats and cargo and other vehicles,” Eleazar said.

The arrival of LSIs have been blamed for the spike in COVID-19 cases in the provinces.

The government suspended the return of stranded residents to allow local chief executives to decongest and disinfect their quarantine facilities.

On Tuesday, the PNP suspended the issuance of travel passes for LSIs bound for Basilan, Lanao del Sur and Camiguin in response to the request of the governors who said their quarantine facilities have reached the maximum capacity.

The PNP said only the travel ban in Caraga has been lifted.

Mall, prison lockdown

As this developed, KCC Mall de Zamboanga in Zamboanga City, the second largest mall in Mindanao, was placed on lockdown  yesterday after a cashier was infected.

Four barangays in the city, where the new cases were recorded, were also placed on lockdown.

Four new cases were recorded in Zamboanga City on Tuesday, bringing the number of infected persons to 253.

The Sablayan prison and penal farm in Occidental Mindoro is also on lockdown after one of its personnel tested positive for the virus.

In Bulacan, Barangays Balatong A and Penabatan in Pulilan and Panginay and a subdivision San Juan, both in Balagtas, as well as two houses and a compound in Barangays Tangos, Subic and Poblacion in Baliwag were placed on zonal lockdown after recording new cases.

Bulacan listed 29 new cases on Tuesday. There are now 532 cases in the province. Roel Pareño, Ramon Efren Lazaro, Raymund Catindig, Ghio Ong, Artemio Dumlao, Iris Hazel Mascardo/The Freeman