THE Cebu City Police Office (CCPO) apprehended 1,825 health protocol violators, including 27 minors, from Jan. 15, 2021 to Jan. 31 as part of Oplan Bulabog.

The minors, aged 14 to 17, were sent home and their parents warned not to let them leave the house.

The CCPO also inspected 286 establishments, half of which were issued show cause orders for not implementing social distancing inside premises or for selling alcoholic beverages beyond the limit of two bottles per customer.

According to CCPO Director Col. Josefino Ligan, majority of the violators were caught not wearing face masks or not having quarantine passes while in public. This was especially the case in Barangay Guadalupe, which has one of the highest coronavirus cases in the city, he said.

“There were fewer violators on Sunday, Jan. 31, but that was because Barangay Guadalpue was on ‘lockdown’ and the police were everywhere,” Ligan said in Cebuano.

Ligan said the CCPO has intensified its campaign against violators of minimum health standards in the city because of the steady rise in the number of coronavirus cases every day.

Most of the people they apprehended were taken to the gym in Barangay Tejero, but the city’s Emergency Operations Center is preparing holding facilities in Barangays San Nicolas and Mambaling, he said.

Violators were made to pay the fine of P500 or do community service.

Ligan said they will file charges in court against repeat offenders, or those they’ve apprehended more than two or three times.

“Although recidivists are liable to face a charge for violating Article 151 of the Revised Penal Code, the important thing is they are charged and they receive a document so they can answer the case,” he said in Cebuano.

Article 151 “punishes resistance and disobedience to a person of authority or the agents of such persons.”

Police are reminding the public to take the ongoing pandemic seriously, especially since the disease can be fatal.

Ligan advised residents to always wear their face masks and face shields when they leave their residences. (AYB / PJB)