Cops to be deployed to quarantine hotels

Per DILG Undersecretary Jonathan Malaya, a total of 294 cops will be assigned to 297 quarantine facilities in the national capital region (NCR) following President Rodrigo Duterte’s order.

Police officers will be sent to quarantine facilities in different classifications including mandatory quarantine facilities, stringent quarantine facilities, and facilities reserved for seafarers, the official said.

“Kakayanin naman po natin ito. Meron tayong tinatawag na mobile force battalion na nakatalaga sa NCRPO (National Capital Region Police Office), police district offices and stations,” Malaya noted.

He added that by Thursday, cops are expected to already be assigned to quarantine facilities.

Duterte earlier said that cops must oversee quarantine hotels to keep individuals from skipping the required isolation period. He noted that hotel personnel have no power to physically prevent people to leave the facility.

“Ang makakahinto lang sa kanila ‘yung government personnel placed or put there in the hotel to work in the matter of placing people under quarantine. It has to be a government personnel or employee,” Duterte said on Tuesday.

Philippine National Police (PNP) Chief Gen. Dionardo Carlos, meanwhile, instructed police units to assign two police personnel in every hotel for every shift.

“I will ask the concerned police units to strategize and rationalize the deployment of personnel so as not to compromise the other tasks that need to be delivered,” Carlos said.

The move comes after a returning Filipino, known as Gwyneth Chua, skipped quarantine at Berjaya Makati Hotel and went to a party in Poblacion, Makati City. She later tested positive for COVID-19 and several of her close contacts were also infected by the virus.

Charges were filed against Chua and eight others involved in the quarantine violation.