POLICE Colonel Allen Rae Co is appealing to the public to follow the curfew in times of Covid-19.
“The idea here is to stay at home, stay indoors, if you (parents) allow them to go out, it defeats the purpose of the order (suspension of classes) and the curfew,” said the Baguio City Police Office (BCPO) city director.
Co relayed reports to the BCPO show on the first day of the suspension of classes, minors were reported to have indulged in a drinking spree.
Baguio Mayor Benjamin Magalong in a memorandum asked the BCPO through Co for the strict implementation of the curfew set since 2018 for minors.
Magalong ordered the suspension of classes in all levels in the city from March 13 to 22 for both public and private schools in a bid to safeguard students and the for school premises to be disinfected and sanitized.
“In view of safeguarding our youth, implementing the directives of the Covid–19 interagency task force and preventing the transmission of Covid–19 in Baguio City, the assistance of the BCPO is necessary to strictly enforce Ordinance No. 23, series of 2018, imposing a curfew on minors in the city between the hours of 9 p.m. to 4 a.m.,” the order states.
The BCPO top cop said visibility of the force will be seen at the Central Business District to check on minors still out during curfew hours and implement the ordinance which bans them on the streets after 9:00 p.m.
Co said the curfew has always been in place and the only difference now is a stricter implementation by the police on the orders of the mayor.
Considerations were given in the past according to Co with the mountain haven being a tourist city and with areas designed to be open in the night time.
Co said guardians usually accompany minors to areas like the night market, restaurants and parks, however, at this time, the police will have to ascertain if minors are truly chaperoned by a legitimate guardians and not merely older friends.
The BCPO top cop said even minors who are seen working at establishments beyond the curfew will be asked where their guardians are.