Police checkpoints in 11 towns and one city of this province were activated on Sunday as Bataan started implementing the enhanced community quarantine (ECQ) that will last until Aug. 22.
Police officers and marshals were seen asking for documents from motorists and travelers at the provincial boundaries.
S/Sgt. Alexander Pablo, who manned one of the checkpoints in Orion town, said they have not encountered any problem as the motorists presented complete requirements.
“Sana ang mga hindi authorized na lumabas ay huwag na munang lumabas para hindi na kumalat ang virus (I hope that those who are not authorized would not go out for the meantime to prevent the spread of the virus),” he said in an interview.
Maj. Jeffrey Onde, Orion police chief, made the rounds of the checkpoints in the municipality.
In Mariveles, checkpoint personnel are even more strict as the industrial town is under ECQ with heightened restrictions.
Lt. Marlon Buenaventura, who is in charge of the checkpoint in the town’s Barangay Batangas Dos, said work at the Freeport Area of Bataan was suspended during the duration of the ECQ, except for those cleaning and maintaining the machinery, doing the payroll and payment of company obligations and security.
He said some workers were surprised by the work stoppage because they were allegedly not immediately informed by their superiors.
Buenaventura said some people trying to enter Mariveles asked for consideration, reasoning that they were not advised of the ECQ guidelines.
“Kung talagang emergency naman, pinagbibigyan namin at sinasabihan na lang na sa susunod ay dapat kumpleto na sila (If it is indeed an emergency, we allowed them and told them that next time, their documents must be complete),” he said.
Governor Albert Garcia said the spike in Covid-19 cases, some of whom were found infected with the Delta variant, was the main reason for placing Bataan under the ECQ status.
“Ito rin ang dahilan ng nakapanlulumong kritikal na sitwasyon sa mga emergency rooms at intensive care units sa ating mga pagamutan at at sumasagad sa mga kakayahan ng mga health workers sa araw-araw (This is the reason for the critical situation at the emergency rooms and intensive care units in our hospitals and our health workers are getting exhausted every day),” the governor said in a social media post.
He said that in order to curb the local transmission of the virus and give respite to hospitals and the overworked health workers, they decided to recommend that Bataan be placed under ECQ and Mariveles, the epicenter of the Delta variant in the province, under ECQ with heightened restrictions.
“Isang napakabigat na desisyon ang magdeklara ng ECQ subalit kailangan nating gawin bago pa maging huli ang lahat. Huwag tayong mabahala at mag panic-buying dahil mananatili namang bukas ang ating mga palengke at supermarket para sa mga essential goods sa panahon ng ECQ (Declaring ECQ is a difficult decision but we need to do this before it is too late. Do not worry and resort to panic-buying because our markets and supermarkets remain open for the essential goods during the period of ECQ),” Garcia said.
He also said the provincial government will assist its constituents by supplying food and also revive the “Kusina sa Barangay” that provides cooked food to the villagers.
“Muling mamimigay ng ayudang 25 kilong bigas sa bawat tahanan bukod pa sa manggagaling na tulong mula sa inyong lokal na pamahalaan at dagdag na suporta mula sa national government (We will again give 25 kilos of rice to every household aside from the assistance from the local government and additional support from the national government),” the governor said.
Source: Philippines News Agency
