Fighting ‘corona’ in two fronts
CIVILIAN, PNP-AFP SOLUTIONS
As the Philippines, along with the rest of the world, is faced with the gargantuan task of battling the coronavirus disease 2019 pandemic, Mr. Duterte again turned to military and police forces to battle an enemy they have never fought before
Since Day 1 of his ascent to power, President Rodrigo Duterte never second-guessed in letting the military or police play important roles in his decision making.
So much is his trust and confidence in the men in uniform that even before they retire from service, civilian jobs await them as part of the Duterte Cabinet or in other government agencies.
Defense Secretary Delfin Lorenzana, National Security Adviser Hermogenes Esperon Jr., Social Welfare and Development Secretary Rolando Bautista and Interior and Local Government Secretary Eduardo Año, to name a few, are examples of former star-ranked military men who transitioned to the Cabinet.
As the Philippines, along with the rest of the world, is faced with the gargantuan task of battling the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic, Mr. Duterte again turned to military and police forces to battle an enemy they have never fought before.
It were not just doctors, nurses, medical technologists, and other health workers who frantically pull out all the stops to save patient after patient in hospitals and makeshift medical facilities.
Outside, personnel from the Armed Forces of the Philippines (AFP) and the Philippine
National Police (PNP) manned quarantine control points to ensure unauthorized persons cross borders.
Send in the troops
Seeing the need to restrict the movement of people across boundaries, the Inter-Agency Task Force on the Management of Emerging Infectious Disease (IATF-MEID) placed the whole of Luzon under enhanced community quarantine (ECQ) mid-March.
The President did not think twice in imposing a “martial law-like” enforcement of the ECQ and tasked the uniformed ranks to ensure citizens observed all health and safety protocols such as social distancing, the wearing of masks and banning of mass gatherings.
“They will be in charge. It would be similar to martial law. You choose. I don’t like it but it’s necessary if the country will suffer because you have no discipline,” the Chief Executive said in one of the earlier IATF briefings.
He justified his decision as many continued to defy quarantine orders.
Data from the Joint Task Force COVID Shield show that from March to June, 193,779 were accosted for violating community quarantine protocols nationwide. Luzon posted the highest number of violators with 126,038, followed by Visayas and Mindanao with 34,370 and 33, 371, respectively.