A 42-YEAR-OLD woman was arrested by personnel of Police Station 10 for disobeying the police officers for not wearing a face mask at Felisa Road, Bangga Totong, Barangay Felisa, Bacolod City Wednesday afternoon, April 1.

Police identified the suspect as Erliza Panisa, of Purok Totong 2, Barangay Felisa.

Police Lieutenant Colonel Ariel Pico, spokesperson of Bacolod City Police Office, said Panisa was buying vegetables in a store in the area, but she was not wearing a face mask at about 4 p.m.

When a policeman approached her for not wearing a mask, he said the suspect raised her voice to the police officer and uttered a vernacular word “yuta mo eh” with the presence of barangay officials and other personnel who were deployed as frontliners in the boarder of Felisa Road, Bangga Totong.

Pico said the suspect is detained at the custodial facility of Police Station 10 and facing charges for resistance and disobedience to an agent of person in authority, direct assault, and oral defamation.

He said the city’s frontliners were only implementing the local laws to prevent and stop the spread of coronavirus disease (Covid-19).

Mayor Evelio Leonardia earlier issued Executive Order No. 27 requiring the mandatory wearing of face masks in all public places in the City of Bacolod.

Leonardia, who signed the EO on March 31, said it is the scientific fact that mask-wearing can help decrease transmission rates of Covid-19 along with correct hand-washing and strict social distancing.

“To ensure the success of the imposed community quarantine, the City of Bacolod should utilize all preventive measures in reducing virus transmission,” he said. (MAP)