Police Colonel Josefino Ligan, chief of the Cebu City Police Office (CCPO), with Police Major Juanito Alaras of the Mabolo Police station, conduct a foot patrol inside Sitio Zapatera in Barrio Luz, Cebu City in this April 2020 photo provided by the CCPO.
CEBU CITY, Philippines — The cooperation of barangay officials in implementing strict monitoring in interior areas of their respective villages will be crucial in keeping residents inside their homes while the city is under enhanced community quarantine (ECQ) due to the coronavirus disease health crisis.
This is what Cebu City Police Office (CCPO) chief Police Colonel Josefino Ligan pointed out as he he returned from a sick leave on Monday, July 6, 2020.
Read: Ligan ends sick leave; to reassume CCPO post on July 6
Ligan said in an interview with reporters on Tuesday morning, July 7, that he was able to have a dialogue with the village chiefs of the city to address the issue about residents who keep on violating the ECQ for the past few days.
Ligan said that he asked the barangay officials to conduct their own patrols even if the police have already gone through an area.
Ligan said that since the police cannot cover all the areas for 24 hours, the village watchmen, with the leadership of the barangay officials, will be a big help in monitoring the areas when police pull out to patrol other areas.
“It is incumbent for the barangay officials to discipline their men with the help of the police officers,” said Ligan.
Ligan said that police will continue patrolling villages and sub villages until such time that residents will learn to comply with the health guidelines of the city that is under ECQ due to the high number of COVID-19 cases.
But he says the barangay force must also be able to come up with a system to be able to implement the rules even when the police forces are not around.
Police Brigadier General Albert Ignatius Ferro, director of Police Regional Office in Central Visayas (PRO-7), also emphasized the crucial role of the barangay officials in the fight against COVID-19.
“Barangay officials, your are the key on our campaign to stop the massive increase of COVID-19 cases here in Cebu,” said Ferro in a press briefing early Tuesday. /bmjo