THE Department of the Interior and Local Government (DILG) on Monday, March 22, 2021, called on the Philippine National Police (PNP) and local government units (LGUs) down to the barangays to strictly implement health protocols, especially the prohibition on mass gatherings in the National Capital Region plus (NCR+) area.
“Kailangan nating maghigpit dahil tumaas na naman ang mga Covid-19 cases. Mass gatherings put the people, their families and communities at risk of contracting the virus. They can become super-spreader events. We therefore need everyone’s cooperation on the measures that the government is imposing to prevent the spread of the virus,” DILG officer-in-charge Bernardo Florece said in a statement.
“LGUs should immediately deploy their Covid19 marshalls, Barangay Disiplina Brigades, barangay tanods and other force multipliers to enforce the prohibition against mass gatherings… Barangay Health Emergency Response Teams (BHERTs) should monitor the compliance with the prohibition in households within their jurisdiction,” he added.
Florece asked the public to report incidents of mass gatherings in their barangays to the BHERTs and the police so that these can be acted on immediately.
In a bid to stop the further spread of the virus, the government on Sunday, March 21, created a “bubble” in NCR+, which refers to the NCR and the provinces of Rizal, Cavite, Laguna and Bulacan.
The four provinces were placed under general community quarantine (GCQ) until April 4, 2021.
Only essential workers and travelers will be allowed to get in and out of the bubble until April 4.
The PNP was tasked to conduct checkpoints in the boundaries of each provinces to prevent the entry and exit of non-essential workers, and to strictly enforce the uniform curfew of 10 p.m. to 5 a.m., which was earlier set by the Metro Manila Council and extended to cover the four provinces by the Inter-Agency Task Force (IATF) for the Management of Emerging Infectious Diseases.
PNP spokesperson Brigadier General Ildebrandi Usana said police will inspect each vehicle at the checkpoints. Violators are issued tickets while people engaged in non-essential trips are asked to return home.
All mass gatherings, including religious gatherings, are strictly prohibited in NCR+, and the conduct of face-to-face meetings is discouraged. The holding of weddings, baptisms and funeral services shall be limited to 10 persons only.
Around 10,000 policemen were deployed in the streets of Metro Manila to enforce GCQ prohibitions, which also include the prohibition on dine-in services.
The IATF only allows delivery and takeout as well as outdoor or al fresco dining with only 50 percent of the venue capacity as well as the provision of dividers on the tables.
The DILG asked for cooperation and discipline among Filipinos amid another spike in Covid-19 cases. (SunStar Philippines)