ENSURING COPS' SAFETY. PNP deputy chief for operations, Lt. Gen. Guillermo Eleazar (right) visits a checkpoint at the border of Metro Manila and Cavite on Thursday (March 26, 2020). Eleazar has been visiting quarantine control points in Luzon to check on the condition of police officers who are enforcing the Luzon-wide enhanced community quarantine. (Contributed photo)
MANILA – The Philippine National Police (PNP) assured its support to cops manning checkpoints for the Luzon-wide enhanced community quarantine to prevent the spread of the coronavirus disease 2019 (Covid-19).
“The first order of our Chief PNP [Gen. Archie Gamboa] is the protection of our personnel on the frontline. He said that policemen should be fully protected because if our personnel on the ground are infected, this will be a big problem,” Lt. Gen. Guillermo Eleazar, PNP deputy chief for operations, told reporters during his visit to a checkpoint on Thursday.
“The PNP leadership would like to assure our men on the ground, and their families, that we are focused on the welfare of our personnel. We are regularly holding meetings to provide and address all the needs and concerns of our men on the ground,” he said.
Eleazar, who also heads the Joint Task Force JTF Corona Virus Shield, said the PNP has been regularly rotating policemen on the frontlines to make sure that they get enough rest as fatigue would make them more prone to diseases.
A total of 709 PNP personnel are considered as persons under monitoring (PUMs) for Covid-19 while 61 more personnel listed as patients under investigation (PUIs) as of March 25.
The PNP earlier confirmed that two of its personnel have tested positive of Covid-19 and both are being closely monitored by PNP doctors.
Eleazar said some areas inside Camp Crame were already initially identified as isolation areas for cops being investigated and monitored for Covid-19 infection. (PNA)
