AUTHORITIES apprehended Monday, April 20, a man who used a siren and blinker on his vehicle and presented a fake document in an attempt to get through quarantine checkpoints in Metro Manila.
Roy del Rosario was arrested around 1 p.m. Monday as he passed by Camp Aguinaldo along Edsa.
His sports utility vehicle, which had a commemorative plate with the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (Asean) logo but no license plate, was impounded.
Police said Del Rosario traveled from Luzon Avenue to Ortigas C5 and further to Nepa Q Mart.
When intercepted in front of the military camp, Del Rosario presented a document that was allegedly signed by Department of the Interior and Local Government (DILG) Secretary Eduardo Año.
“This certification is issued to Mr. Roy Del Rosario dated April 1, 2020 as a proof that he is a member of the Inter-Agency Task Force for the management of Emerging Infectious Diseases front liner for transporting important equipment, medical supplies and essential front liner workers to combat Covid-19 virus to any part of Luzon,” the document reads.
“Attention: Philippine National Police and all Quarantine checkpoint and dedicated checkpoint: Mandatory passage of the vehicle driven by the person in this certificate is required and use of siren and federal blinker is a must,” it added.
Lieutenant General Guillermo Eleazar, Joint Task Force Covid Shield commander and PNP deputy chief for operations, and Highway Patrol Group (HPG) Director Eliseo Cruz personally inspected the vehicle and questioned Del Rosario.
Eleazar said they learned from DILG Undersecretary Jonathan Malaya that the certification presented by Del Rosario was fake.
“I immediately checked with an official of the DILG who told me that the document was fake,” he said.
“He was using a siren and was so arrogant when confronted. When we found out that the signature in the document is not the signature of Secretary Año, we impounded his vehicle and we will file criminal charges against him that include falsification of public documents and violation to the ECQ (enhanced community quarantine),” he added.
The PNP has launched a crackdown against private vehicles on non-essential trips.
The HPG has since apprehended over 100 private vehicles which were driven by or carrying unauthorized persons outside residence. (SunStar Philippines)