Checkpoints, empty streets as Guadalupe enforces ‘Stay at Home Sundays’

The streets in Barangay Guadalupe, Cebu City are nearly empty today, January 22, 2021, as authorities strictly implement a “Stay at Home Sundays” order to curb the rising cases of COVID-19 there. | Pegeen Maisie M. Sararaña #CDNDigital

CEBU CITY, Philippines — Checkpoints and mostly empty streets have greeted those who pass along Barangay Guadalupe, Cebu City today, January 24, 2021, as the barangay has started to impose its “stay at home” and no businesses to open” orders to curb the rising infections there.

Police Major Janelito Marquez, Guadalupe Police Station chief, told CDN Digital in a phone interview that those who would be unable to provide the needed documents would be warned or worse apprehended.

Policemen and barangay tanods man the checkpoints to ensure that the “stay at home” order and strict implementation of health and safety protocols are observed.

Watch: Nearly empty streets in Guadalupe as Stay at Home Sundays are implemented

Marquez also said that the order not to open businesses on Sunday was meant to guarantee that establishments in the barangay would be properly disinfected. Around 7 a.m. today, the barangay task force for COVID-19 disinfected public areas including its public market.

According to a post of the Guadalupe Emergency Response Team-Fire and EMS, the guidelines of the stay at home order include no loitering around the barangay unless it is for emergency reasons.

The guidelines also allow non-resident APORs or Authorized Persons Outside of Residence to leave and enter for work and those in the home delivery business are also allowed to enter the barangay.

Aside from those exceptions, non-residents are prohibited from entering the barangay on this day.

Read: Guadalupe imposes stricter rules vs COVID-19 every Sunday

Guadalupe, the most populous barangay in Cebu City implemented these measures every Sunday starting today to prevent the rising COVID-19 cases there. As of Jan. 22, 2021, a report from the Emergency Operations Center recorded 43 new cases in the barangay spread out among its 27 sitios.

This prompted the barangay captain to issue the stay at home and no businesses to open on Sundays orders to prevent the spread of the virus.

A barangay resident said that he and the others had already somehow adjusted to this kind of situation.

“Since ni balik man ang mando nga mag lockdown diri sa among barangay, balik rami sa naandan pag ECQ ug GCQ nga mag pundo sa balay imbes nga maka gawas-gawas unta kadiyot lang kay Dominggo lagi,” said a resident, who asked not to be identified.

(Since the order to place our barangay in “lockdown”, we had returned I believe to the time during the ECQ [enhanced community quarantine] and GCQ [general community quarantine] where we stay inside our homes instead of going outside because it is a Sunday.)

“Sukad gyud pag start sa pandemic, naka hinay-hinay namig adjust unsaon pagsecure sa among pang konsumo. Mao nang karon nga gibalik ang lockdown sa Guada, wala nami nagka lisang-lisang og last minute nga pag pangumpra,” he said.

(Since the start of the pandemic, we have slowly adjusted in securing our food supply. So when the “lockdown” in Guadalupe was implemented, we did not have to go panic-buying for food supplies.)

Meanwhile, Police Major Marquez said the new orders — Stay at home Sundays and no businesses to open on Sundays — would continue to be implemented until the infections would ease or would be controlled. /dbs