Barangay captains remiss of their duties on public health guidelines will face arrest, President Duterte warns
President Rodrigo Roa Duterte talks to the people after holding a meeting with the Inter-Agency Task Force on the Emerging Infectious Diseases (IATF-EID) core members at the MalacaΓ±ang Golf (Malago) Clubhouse in MalacaΓ±ang Park, Manila on May 26, 2021. ROBINSON NIΓAL/ PRESIDENTIAL PHOTO
Fed up by reports of mass gatherings amid government efforts to contain the coronavirus disease (COVID-19), President Rodrigo Roa Duterte warned barangay captains anew saying they may face arrest if they fail to prevent public gatherings that could be considered “super spreaders.”
Failing
to enforce the law, particularly community quarantine restrictions, is
considered dereliction of duty and punishable under the Revised Penal Code,
President Duterte said Wednesday night in a meeting on government’s COVID-19
interventions.
“Talagang
ang unang ipakulong ko ‘yong barangay captain having committed a crime of
dereliction of duty under the Revised Penal Code,” he said. “Kasi
magpa-barangay captain kayo, persons in authority tapos wala kayong gawin,
hindi kayo tumulong sa national government, you are not doing anything, then I
will order your arrest.”
“Iyong
barangay captain, if you are really worth your status there, kung ayaw ninyo,
umalis kayo... I’m ordering the police to arrest the barangay captain and bring
him to the station, investigate him for being a derelict, of dereliction of
duty having failed to enforce the law,” he added.
Duterte
said barangay captains must personally see to it that large gatherings such as
fiestas, cockfighting, and other public events remain strictly prohibited in
their jurisdictions.
Multiple
infections can result from a single public gathering, the President said,
underscoring the dangers posed by social events on public health.
“Pasaway
eh. Iyan ang problema. Much as we would like to reduce the COVID cases, eh kung
ganoon ang ginagawa ninyo, walang katapusan na ito kasi lahat kayo naghahawaan na naman and you
know the danger of congregating or getting together so close to each other, nagsasayawan
pa, nagpipiyesta pa,” he said. “‘Di ba sinabi na sa inyo na delikado ‘yan?”
Interior
and Local Government Secretary Eduardo AΓ±o, who was also present during the
meeting, said the Department of Interior and Local Government (DILG) for its
part, will release a memo circular indicating barangay captains’ additional
responsibilities in enforcing minimum public health standards to mitigate
coronavirus infections.
AΓ±o
said the memo circular will mandate barangay captains to form their own
barangay COVID-19 operation center as well as a barangay tanod health patrol
that would conduct regular health patrols in their barangays including public
places especially on weekends and public holidays.
The
memo also mandates barangay captains to ensure that the public refrain from
congregating in social activities. These include drinking of alcoholic
beverages, cockfighting, fiestas, parades, processions, and other public
events, said AΓ±o.
Meanwhile,
President Duterte admonished local government units (LGUs) which reportedly
expressed preferences for COVID-19 vaccine particularly for US brand Pfizer,
noting that being selective is not feasible in light of the global supply
shortage.
According
to the President, equality must be followed in the country’s vaccine
distribution. Allowing some localities to administer a single brand of vaccine
to their constituents would agitate other LGUs and make similar demand, he
explained.
“I
cannot administer exclusive Pfizer sa isang lugar to the exclusion of other
Filipinos. Kaya hindi puwede ho ‘yang ano --- eh kailangan talaga i-mix ‘yan at
saka ‘yong blind ang tao sa anong binibigay. Basta may bakuna,” he said.
Pfizer
is just one brand among many that the Philippines is procuring from COVID-19
vaccine manufacturers, the President said, noting vaccine brands do not vary in
efficacy.
“Vaccine
is vaccine, walang pilian ‘yan. And the best bakuna is really the one that’s
available for you,” he said.
The
Philippines is presently negotiating for the supply of COVID-19 vaccines from
World Health Organization-led COVAX facility and pharmaceutical companies
Pfizer, AstraZeneca, Gamaleya Research Institute, Novavax, Moderna, Sinovac,
Sinopharm, and Johnson & Johnson, among others.
Last
week, the Philippines’s aggressive vaccination efforts put it at 36th place out
of 196 countries with average daily vaccination rate, and ranked 4th among
Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) member countries. PND
