Uniformed policemen were deployed in uptown Cebu City shortly before midnight on Wednesday, June 24, 2020, to make sure that Cebuanos stay at home. | Photo courtesy of Chito Aragon
CEBU CITY, Philippines –Police barricades were set up in at least three major thoroughfares that provide access to barangay Guadalupe, one of the biggest barangays in Cebu City.
Uniformed military and police personnel that man these barricade demand for valid documentation before vehicles and even residents are allowed to enter or leave the barangay.
Checkpoints in this southern barangay are located along V. Rama Avenue, M. Velez Street, and Salvador Street.
Barangay Captain Michael Gacasan said that the presence of law enforcers may have caused a chilling effect on his constituents, the reason why most of them opted to stay at home today.
However, he approved of the ‘heavy’ lockdown that was implemented in his barangay, a means to deter the spread of the coronavirus disease that has already inflicted 4,479 individuals in the city as of June 23, 2020. There are now a total of 2,213 active cases of the infection here.
“May ra sad ni oi, kay naglisod gyod mig kontrolar sa mga tawo sa una. May nalang ni kay nakwakwaan among trabaho kay kapoy na gyod,” he told CDN Digital.
(I prefer to have it done this way because we have been having difficulty in controlling the movement of our people. [With the presence of law enforcers] this is already one task off our shoulders because we are also beginning to get tired.)
Gacasan is asking his constituents to cooperate with law enforcers and ‘patiently’ for the release of new guidelines and probably new quarantine passes from City Hall.
Read: Labella to Cebu City residents: Stay calm, follow ECQ guidelines
In the coastal barangay of Suba that is also located in Cebu City’s south district, residents have opted to stay at home even if there are no police checkpoints in their area.
Barangay Captain Joel Sable said that people only go out of their homes to buy food, water and other essentials.
Sable said that since Suba shares the entrance of the neighboring barangay Pasil, police checkpoints are located on the streets of Pasil. However, uniformed policemen were seen roving their barangay this morning, June 24, 2020.
Uncertain of the extent of the city’s lockdown policy, Sable said, he wanted to reserve his comments on the matter unless a guideline for its implementation is released by City Hall.
For now, Sable said he is more concerned about his barnagay’s inclusion in the list of top 10 barangays with the most number of COVID-19 cases in the city.
Barangay Suba, he said, is only left with 10 active cases of the infection from having 184 cases and eight deaths last month.
“Wala mi kasabot ngano padayon pa mi nga naa sa top ten. Gamay naman lang mig kaso diri nya nakontrolar naman ang pagsaka sa mga kaso. Ngano nasentro gihapon mi?” said barangay captain Joel Sable.
(I don’t understand why we are still included in the top 10 list. We are left with few very cases now and cases of the infection in our barangay were already placed under control. Why are we still included as among the focus of attention [in the city’s anti-COVID fight]?) / dcb