Police Brigadier General Ignatius Ferro, director of the Police Regional in Central Visayas. | Screenshot from the PRO-7 live video
CEBU City, Philippines — Police Brigadier General Ignatius Ferro, the director of the Police Regional Office in Central Visayas (PRO-7), is worried with Cebu City’s decision to allow jeepneys to return to the streets, expressing concerns on health risks.
On Tuesday, November 3, 2020, Cebu City Mayor Edgardo Labella signed an Executive Order (EO) reopening 18 routes for traditional public utility jeepneys.
Read: 1.3K traditional jeeps to return to Cebu City streets, 18 routes to open
Ferro said on Wednesday, November 4, that the operations of jeepneys needs a thorough study because it will increase the risk of spreading the Coronavirus Disease 2019 (COVID-19).
“We will still consult with the IATF (Interagency Task Force) on that matter. We need to be briefed on how we could manage to allow the jeepneys [to operate]. We will see to it that the protocols are in place. We have to come up with the best analysis on this, the best course of action,” said the general.
Ferro said there should be no complacency in health protocols with the return of the jeepneys because the number of cases has significantly dropped with only single digits being recorded per day in the highly urbanized cities.
As of November 3, Cebu City has 150 remaining active cases out of the 10,269 total confirmed cases.
Despite his apprehensions, the police general said the return of the jeepneys is still a collegiate decision and so he will be asking Mayor Edgardo Labella for more discussions.
“I don’t know the minds of the people, but if it is for the good of the people then let it be. Then again, we should be discerning, we should come up with a collective decision making to come up with a better decision,” said Ferro.
For now, the quarantine checkpoints of the police will remain and Ferro said they will not be removed even with the return of the jeepneys.
/bmjo