Police social, physical distancing violations

By Ermin Garcia Jr.

 

NOW that the Inter-Agency Task Force already decided that Pangasinan qualifies for Modified General Community Quarantine, being able to manage the contagion of COVID-19, we are seeing some redundancy if not some disconnect in supporting the objectives and purpose of the upgrade in status.

Firstly, about the checkpoints. There is valid reason for the provincial government to continue to maintain strict controls at border checkpoints, particularly to be on the lookout for persons traveling from Metro Manila, still the epicenter of COVID-19 cases in the country.  The province can’t afford contamination even from asymptomatic travelers, whether they are Pangasinan residents or not. Travel authority with medical clearances must continue to be strictly required.

Now the disconnect. Since local residents are already assumed to be free of the virus after all these months, they should be allowed to move freely. Hence, checkpoints for COVID-19 between towns and cities are already redundant and a serious waste of police manpower and resources.

What can checkpoints between towns and cities seek to achieve except to check if passengers are wearing masks, a function that can be checked and done anywhere by other persons, i.e., family members, establishments, etc.  It’s a needless activity that only serves to slow down mobility and inconvenience to commuters.

The provincial police should keep its mobile checkpoints going for the purpose of checking movements of drugs, guns, and wanted persons but no longer the border checkpoints for suspected COVID-19 carriers.

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PATROLS FOR COVID-19.  What the provincial police can do instead of the internal border checkpoints to stop contagion of COVID-19, is to launch mobile and foot patrols in all towns and cities 24/7 to monitor and strictly enforce social and physical distancing, wearing of masks, provisions of disinfectants in public markets malls, commercial areas and populated barangays, enforcement of limited occupancies in restaurants, tricycles, buses and jeepneys, cars, with the intent of filing cases vs. violators.

 During a drive through barangays these days, one can see more residents resuming their old practice and habit of gathering around sari-sari stores, and without masks! Even bicycle stores are getting crowded with customers.  More tricycles are beginning to carry again the two passengers, etc.

 It is in the violation of social and physical distancing where possible spread of infection can be traced. If the discipline is not taught via strict enforcement, many LGUs will likely be ordered to be locked down again.

 Since the core of the health problem is discipline and enforcement, it is the police that should be depended upon to serve this purpose. Hindi pwede yong bahala na kayo.

 The police and barangay officials (from kapitan to tanod) will be the major frontliners in this effort, no longer the medical sector. There must be an intensive orientation among the frontliners for enforcement if we want the communities to understand that there is strict enforcement and implementation. There must be uniformity in all aspects, including filing of cases vs. violators.

 LGUs and the police must not leave the continued implementation of the protocols to chance.  These must be pursued intently for impact and results.

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BICYCLE LANES HAZARDOUS. Before our local governments think of allocating bicycle lanes, they must think enforcement. Allocation of a lane alone is a dangerous proposition.

As things stand, our towns and cities still cannot strictly enforce the law that prohibits tricycles on highways; and if they are allowed owing to limited access to barangays, tricycles and motorcycles continue to occupy middle/center lanes and refuse to take the uttermost lanes.

The police and barangay officials are clearly not the least concerned about the law, not even for the safety of riders in their communities. If tricycle and motorcycle riders are notoriously flouting one-way traffic rules, imagine what it’d be like with more bicycle riders with the mindset that they, too, can ride and move like pedestrians and not covered by road traffic rules.

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DRUG SYNDICATES ENJOY OFFICIAL PROTECTION. The recent successful series of raids of drug dens by operatives of PDEA in the cities clearly show illegal drug trafficking has proliferated while the country was busy checking COVID-19.

These could only mean that while nobody was looking, some city and barangay officials with the support of police chiefs were back into the protection racket for the drug syndicates. That is a certainty.

After all, it’s the local governments that have full administrative control over barangays that are expected to know everything there is to know, particularly everything illegal.

Drug dens are a sign that these are protected because unlike drug pushing which could happen anywhere, drug dens are like permanent addresses. Is it possible that barangay chiefs wouldn’t know where the known addicts gather and get their supply on a regular basis?  And the barangay chiefs don’t count on a councilor, police and the mayor for back-up protection?

In the recent raid in Bonuan Boquig, the driver of a high-ranking city official was among those nabbed by PDEA inside the drug den. If the driver frequents the drug den, how can his bossing at the city hall claim he doesn’t know about it?  Tsk-tsk.

It looks like vulnerable parents and families can only hope for protection from the undermanned PDEA because their city officials are already controlled by drug syndicates.

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