No more punishments

According to Police Regional Office-7 director Albert Ignatius Ferro, there will be no more “punishments” for those arrested for quarantine violations. As per his directive, the police will just go straight to the filing charges in court against those arrested.

This after the public outrage at the policemen’s treatment of an elderly woman who was made to walk six kilometers under the heat of the sun after the policemen claimed she used a fake quarantine pass when she went out of her house.

It’s good that Ferro has decided to do away with punishments like these, and that’s because they serve no purpose at all.

Simply put, they just don’t deter people. Since the start of arrests for quarantine violations last April, people have been made to exercise, dance, and even perform the Sinulog after they were arrested for quarantine violations.

Some people arrested for violations get lucky; they just get to sit in a bus or are corralled in Plaza Independencia for half a day. All to no avail.

Calling a stop to such punishments will also end this culture of power-tripping by some policemen. Let’s face it, having a certain degree of power over others can go to anyone’s head, policeman or not. Ferro said policemen who will still be enforcing the punishments will be tracked down and reprimanded.

All this goes without saying that the police should be careful who they charge in court for quarantine offenses. There are really people who may have a valid reason to be outside, but not the necessary pass because it has not been provided to them.

A good number of Cebu City residents who should have received the new Quarantine Passes by now are still waiting for them. If it ever comes to them is another issue.

It should also be mentioned that there is still a lot of confusion regarding the new quarantine passes and many policemen still don’t seem to understand how they work.