INTENSIFYING the enforcement of health protocols in view of the rising Covid-19 cases in the city, the Mandaue City Police Office (MCPO) apprehended 28 quarantine violators as police started their synchronized law enforcement operations over the weekend.
Police Major Zosimo Jabas, chief of the Operations and Management Unit of the MCPO, said the operation, which started on Feb. 26, 2021, is being done simultaneously by all six police stations in Mandaue City every Friday until Sunday.
The operation was done after the Emergency Operations Center (EOC) for Covid-19 tasked the MCPO to strictly enforce the quarantine protocols due to the drastic increase in Covid-19 cases in the city.
Jabas said police stations will conduct 24-hour patrol operations and “recorrida” (public address) to strictly implement the quarantine protocols.
Jabas said they’re conducting the operations every Friday to Sunday because a lot of people go out of their houses during weekends.
He, however, clarified that the operations during weekdays will remain.
He said the police stations will still have their own deployment and operations on weekdays, but on weekends the operations will be synchronized to effectively enforce the implementation of health protocols.
During the first weekend of operations, Jabas said they apprehended only a few violators.
From Feb. 26 to 27, they apprehended 10 violators and 18 on Feb. 28 or a total of 28 during the three-day operations.
Aside from the police stations, the MCPO also tapped the barangay officials to initiate the “recorrida” in the interior portions of the barangay, together with the Pulis sa Barangay (PSB).
He said the MCPO will add another police officer to function as PSB in each barangay.
The Police Regional Office downloaded 50 new police officers for the MCPO on the first week of February.
The MCPO will not only apprehend violators of the minimum health standards such as those not wearing face masks and not practicing social distancing but also those who defy the other protocols by the city and the national government.
On Feb. 20, Mandaue City Mayor Jonas Cortes reimposed the ban on the serving and drinking of liquor in establishments in the city.
Jabas said they have visited restaurants and establishments selling liquor and so far, these have complied with the directive. (KFD)