Pelare: People out on Talisay streets ‘controllable’

Talisay City Police are deployed in Tabunok Market this afternoon, June 22, 2020, to make sure that the public are still observing social distancing despite the city downgrading back to general community quarantine (GCQ). | Photos from Police Major Gerard Ace Pelare

CEBU CITY, Philippines — More people were out on the streets of Talisay City on the first day of the general community quarantine (GCQ).

Police Major Gerard Ace Pelare, Talisay City Police chief, also said that the crowd of people were also controllable.

Pelare told CDN Digital in phone interview on June 22, 2020 that they were able to control these people because they had prepared for these situation of more people on the streets with the downgrading of the community quarantine status from modified enhanced community quarantine (MECQ) to GCQ.

Read more: Talisay City under GCQ on Monday

However, Pelare said that since it was expected, they were able to plan and deploy policemen on areas like Tabunok Public Market to make sure that health protocols such as social distancing was still being observed strictly.

“While we are now on GCQ, the protocols of social distancing is observed especially in places of convergence. More police are in the area in compliance with the instruction of Mayor Samsam (Mayor Gerald Anthony Gullas),” said Pelare.

Read more: Public told about new normal: Wear face masks, observe social distancing

He also said that on the first day of GCQ, the city was still peaceful aside from a few arrests of GCQ violators.

He also said tht the public were cooperative with the instructions of the policemen, who were patrolling the streets of the city./dbs