CCPO chief urges public to practice ‘self discipline’ amid pandemic

CEBU CITY, Philippines– Cebu City Police Office (CCPO) city director Police Colonel Josefino Ligan is urging the public to comply with health protocols amid the continuing fight against COVID-19.

This after police here reported 1,825 violators apprehended from January 16 to 31, 2021 during the ‘Oplan Bulabog’ operations in Cebu City. Most of those apprehended were those who were caught roaming with no quarantine passes. There were also 27 minors aged 14 to 17 years old who were among those caught. 

With this, Ligan is encouraging residents to comply with health protocols and make compliance a habit as the number of active cases in Cebu City continues to rise. 

“Akong awhag sa tanan, self discipline lang palihug.”, said Ligan.

Since early January, Cebu City police has conducted ‘Oplan Bulabog” operations, which is the CCPO’s premier monitoring and surveillance program for quarantine violators.

Read: ‘Oplan Bulabog’ to continue even after the Sinulog

Violators who cannot pay the administrative fine of P500 for the first offense will be turned over to Prevention, Restoration, Order, Beautification, and Enhancement (PROBE) team. Second offenders will face charges of disobedience. Further, minors who were caught were turned over to their guardians and were warned. 

He added that people should not be complacent to all measures implemented by the authorities. Ligan stressed that as the number of violators increases, so does the number of COVID cases. 

Data from the Department of Health in Central Visayas (DOH-7), compiled by CDN Digital, show that the city recorded a total of 1,122 new infections in January 2021.

Meanwhile, the CCPO said it inspected 286 establishments on the same period and according to their coordination with the Business Permit and Licensing Office (BPLO), many establishments are already issued  show-cause orders.

According to Ligan, these establishments also violated health protocols like failing to comply with physical distancing, excessive serving of liquors, and violating the 50-percent allowed capacity for customers. 

In a meeting with the Emergency Operations Center (EOC) on Monday, February 1, 2021, Ligan highlighted the continuing strict contact tracing and enforcement of health protocols to help lower the number of cases in the city.

/bmjo