Cops from Police Regional Office-8 preparing to board a ship at Ormoc City Seaport going to Cebu City. | INQUIRER.net File Photo
CEBU CITY, Philippines— At least 300 police officers will help in controlling the strict implementation of the enhanced community quarantine (ECQ) in Cebu City.
This was confirmed by Lieutenant Colonel Ali Baron, Chief Regional Operation and Management Division of the Police Regional Office (PRO-7), on Wednesday, June 24, 2020.
“We expect mga 261 man siguro ni sila tanan coming from Region 7. Kining other regions nga 107 kabouk para lang sa implementation sa ECQ sa Cebu City,” said Baron.
(We expect around 261 coming from Region 7. Other regions will be sending 107 all for the implementation of the ECQ in Cebu City.)
There will be officers coming from Bohol, Negros, and Siquijor.
He said that some 20 plus officers from the province of Bohol have already been deployed here in the city together with the 50 augmented police officers from the Cebu Province.
Baron said some of the policemen from other regions such as Regions 6 and 8 haven’t arrived yet.
“[Their arrival] depends on the availability of the trips to Cebu. Because there are still no regular trips as of the moment,” Baron said.
The additional policemen are expected to be a boost in helping in the implementation of a more strict lockdown on several villages that still have high number of cases of COVID-19.
Late Tuesday, June 23, 2020, Police Brigadier General Albert Ignatius Ferro, director of the PRO-7, announced the suspension of quarantine passes issued by the Cebu City government.
As of Wednesday night, June 24, 2020, Cebu City has a total of 4,539 cases, but only 2,197 of these are active cases. /bmjo