MANILA: A total of 1,449 violators were arrested on the first day of the re-implementation of curfew hours in Metro Manila, the Philippine National Police (PNP) said on Tuesday.
Lt. Gen. Cesar Hawthorne Binag, PNP deputy chief for operations and Joint Task Force Covid-19 Shield commander, said the start of the implementation of curfew in Metro Manila was deemed “generally successful,” based on the assessment of the National Capital Region Police Office (NCRPO).
Citing latest data, he said the city of Manila posted the highest number of arrested curfew violators at 1,139.
Meanwhile, 1,588 curfew violators were meted with fines but they have the option to render community service “if they fail to pay the fines imposed upon them,” according to NCRPO.
On the other hand, 547 curfew violators were initially issued warnings and were subsequently released.
A total of 8,341 NCRPO personnel were deployed to implement the curfew hours from 10 p.m. to 5 a.m. as part of efforts to curb the rise in coronavirus disease 2019 (Covid-19) cases in the region.
On Monday, PNP officer-in-charge Lt. Gen. Guillermo Eleazar said 370 areas have been identified for the setting up of checkpoints for the unified curfew hours in the National Capital Region starting March 15. Aside from manning checkpoints, police officers will conduct roving patrols, he added.
Eleazar also reminded PNP personnel to observe maximum tolerance, respect the people’s rights and avoid confrontation with the public.
“We will be closely monitoring your compliance,” he said.
He also urged the public to prevent unnecessary provocation and spare themselves from arrest by respecting the rules on the observance of the minimum health safety standard protocols and the authorities that are enforcing these protocols.
“The keyword here is to respect if we know how to respect one another, I assure you of smooth curfew implementation. Let us always bear in mind that your PNP is not the enemy here, our common enemy is the coronavirus and it takes our cooperation to contain the spread of the virus,” he added.
