Police Brigadier General Albert Ignatius Ferro, Police Regional Office in Central Visayas (PRO-7) director has assured the public that they are ready if the province will extend its enhanced community quarantine. | CDN Digital file photo
CEBU CITY, Philippines — The Police Regional Office in Central Visayas (PRO-7) is prepared and can manage to continue to fulfill their roles should there be an extension of the enhanced community quarantine (ECQ) in Cebu.
Police Brigadier General Albert Ignatius Ferro, PRO-7 director, said this amid talks about the possible extension of the ECQ in the province of Cebu as the possibility of an extension of the ECQ in Luzon loomed because the number of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) cases there had not yet gone down or the curve of cases has not yet flattened.
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Ferro said the extension would give more time for medical personnel to really handle the coronavirus crisis and for the police to also assist in terms of monitoring and containing patients, who might have tested positive of the virus.
“For me it is okay kasi we will have more time on validating, more time on contact tracing, for those who are suspected to be PUI (patients under investigation) with ILI (influenza like illness) para naa tay more time na ma sure nato nga atong nga suspected na possible carrier of virus of COVID-19 will be identified,” he said.
The PRO-7 chief said he was confident that the police could manage the extension because the public especially in Cebu had been generally cooperative with the regulations.
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Although there had been 2,175 people, who were warned of violating the curfew; 393, who were issued citations for traffic violations; and100 persons, who were arrested for violation of the liquor ban, Ferro said that the police had so far been handling the situation well.
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“Naa man pud tay reserve force sa region,tapos naa tay crisis battalion nga naka standby in case nga naay mga gubot ba. We are ready for any eventualities,” he said.
(We have a reserve force in the region. Then we also have a crisis battalion on standby just in case there are incidents that might need them. We are ready for any eventualities.)/dbs