SINCE the strict implementation of the curfew ordinance and the enhanced community quarantine (ECQ) in Lapu-Lapu City on Tuesday, March 31, 2020, almost 400 people have already been apprehended. Meanwhile, the four “Quarantine Control Points” in the city are guarded by the police and force multipliers 24 hours.
The 24-hour curfew ordinance was enacted on March 13, the ECQ on March 29 early morning and the social distancing in all public transportation and motorcycles on March 27.
According to PCol. Clarito Baja, Chief of the City Police Office, out of the 381 individuals apprehended during the curfew, 92 were minors who were turned over to their respective barangays and then to their parents.
Officials will also be taking a look at the data base records of each barangay to identify how many times these minors have been sanctioned as there will be a penalty for repeat offenses.
Adults who will be apprehended, including those who are caught without their home quarantine pass, will have to pay a fine to avoid jail time.
Baja says the penalty is P1,000 for the first offense, P3,000 for the second and P5,000 for the third.
According to those apprehended, they were unaware of the ordinances, despite the aggressive information dissemination of the barangays and police through mainstream media, social media and public announcements within the barangay.
There have also been 302 multicab and motorcycle drivers who received citation tickets for exceeding the maximum number of passengers allowed and having another person on the motorcycle despite the social distancing ordinance.
Officials also disclosed that two individuals were sanctioned jail time for disobedience to a person in authority after defying a police or traffic enforcer.
In other news, there are 12 police officers on duty per shift within 24 hours in the quarantine control points in Lapu-Lapu, with the help of the Bureau of Fire and Protection (BFP), Philippine Navy, traffic enforcers and other force multipliers.
These quarantine control points are situated in two bridges and two exits in the borders of Cordova.
Baja informs that the BFP has placed a decontamination area where those on duty in the control points are disinfected before going home. (FVQ with CBQ)