The Cebu City Police Office headquarters along Gorodo Avenue in Cebu City. | CCPO photo
CEBU CITY, Philippines — Policemen in Cebu City arrested this week a total of 198 individuals who defied government regulations that were imposed to control the spread of the coronavirus disease 2019.
Most of the arrested individuals did not have quarantine passes while others were found outside of their homes on days other than their scheduled days to buy essentials.
However, Police Colonel Josefino Ligan, chief of the Cebu City Police Office (CCPO), noted that violators have started to decrease since the start of implementation of City Ordinance No. 2566 on August 16.
READ: Charges filed against 10 quarantine violators in Punta
Prior to the implementation of CO No. 2566, police would arrest at least 600 quarantine violators per week. Most of them were made to exercise at the Plaza Independencia grounds or render community service before they were sent back home to their families as a punishment.
READ: Penalties for quarantine violators in Cebu City reduced
With the passage of the ordinance, quarantine violators were asked to pay fines ranging from P500 to P3, 000 or serve a jail term of 30 days or render community service.
“Ubos gyud kaayo ni siya compared sa previous weeks nga wala pa ma sign ang City Ordinance,” said Ligan.
(The number of arrests that we now make is much lower compared to the time when the ordinance was still in effect.)
Ligan said that the imposition of fines and other penalties helped keep the majority of the Cebuanos at home while the city remains under general community quarantine.
For those, who are hardheaded and will continue to ignore the city’s quarantine measures, Ligan said, advised them to prepare cash for the payment of their fines.
He said that policemen will continue to patrol the different barangays to enforce arrest on residents who ignore CO No. 2566. / dcb