ALMOST 12,000 VIOLATORS ON 1ST DAY OF ALERT LEVEL 4 IN METRO MANILA

A total of 11,803 individuals were apprehended on the first day of the implementation of the new alert system of community quarantine classification in Metro Manila.

Based on data from the Philippine National Police, more than 71 percent or 8,421 of these violators were flagged for non-wearing and improper wearing of face masks and face shields, and not observing physical distancing.

Another 3,226 or 27 percent were accosted for loitering during curfew hours, extended to 10 p.m. to 4 a.m. the next day.

The remaining 156 or 1 percent were warned for traveling outside of their homes despite being unauthorized persons in areas on granular lockdown.

The Inter-Agency Task Force for the Management of Emerging Infectious Diseases placed the entire National Capital Region (NCR) on alert level 4 of the pilot five-level alert system from Sept. 16 to Sept. 30.

Traveling between cities in NCR is allowed under the alert level, except for areas placed on granular lockdowns. But the ban on traveling for persons below 18 and above 65 years old, persons with comorbidities or other health risks, and pregnant women is still imposed.

Leisure travel from Metro Manila to other areas on general community quarantine (GCQ) and modified GCQ is also allowed subject to the destination’s guidelines.

According to the PNP, there were 59 barangays in NCR on granular lockdown. These were being secured by 341 police officers and 406 force multipliers, who are mainly barangay and local government personnel.

Gen. Guillermo Eleazar, chief of the PNP, on Friday tasked police personnel in Metro Manila to maintain their presence in outdoor leisure areas amid the enforcement of alert level 4.

In Manila, Rizal Park reopened on Thursday, where a maximum of 500 people are allowed at a time, according to the Department of Tourism.

Several areas in Intramuros also resumed operations but the management has imposed shortened operating hours.

Aside from the opening of tourist spots, restaurants and other business establishments also gradually resumed their dine-in operations.

“These new quarantine rules are the balance between containing the spread of the disease and reviving the economy, and eventually will lead us back to normalization. The success of this new system will depend on the compliance of the public,” Eleazar added.

Local governments in Metro Manila have also deployed personnel to ensure that only vaccinated customers are entering establishments subject to certain restrictions under the new alert level system being piloted in the region, according to Interior Undersecretary Jonathan Malaya.

“The pilot run’s first day of the implementation of the alert level system went well. The guidelines were clear to [local governments],” Malaya said at an online briefing.

To make sure rules are followed, local governments sent teams to check on the vaccination cards of customers in restaurants and personal care services, Malaya said.

They also made sure the establishments’ employees were vaccinated, he said.

There were several instances where the local government teams found customers in indoor barbershop who were not vaccinated and were sent home, he said.