DAVAO CITY — The Philippine National Police (PNP) will conduct random visits to business establishments and quarantine hotels situated in areas under Alert Level 3.Acting on the instructions of DILG Secretary Eduardo M Año, the PNP will make sure that health protocols are strictly implemented in these establishments especially that the National Capital Region (NCR) has been placed under Heightened Alert Level.
PNP Chief Dionardo Carlos in a statement said “This will give the PNP the authority to intensify our inspection of these establishments since there is a directive from the DILG. These inspection rounds will be unannounced and shall be conducted randomly to determine which establishments are compliant with Public Health protocols. Let this be a warning that there is no room for complacency during this health emergency.
Based on the existing IATF guidelines, in areas under Alert Level 3, businesses can operate if their workers are fully vaccinated against COVID-19. They are also allowed to cater to fully vaccinated clients or customers; and use only 30 percent capacity for indoor set-up and 50 percent capacity for outdoors or Al Fresco.
This order came amidst the controversy regarding the alleged protocol violators who skipped their mandatory quarantine in hotels. “We believe that police visibility will serve the purpose to monitor how the quarantine hotels are accommodating their guests who are required to isolate while waiting for the completion of the required number of quarantine days,” Carlos said.
The PNP is in talks with other law enforcement agencies to get to the bottom of this scheme in the wake of reports of alleged under-the-table connivance between errant guests and hotel management to make it appear that their guests strictly follow quarantine protocol but are actually skipping quarantine.
