Interior Secretary Eduardo Año on Thursday said chiefs of large villages cannot use the size of their area of jurisdiction as an excuse for their inability to monitor and prevent super spreader events amid the coronavirus disease 2019 (Covid-19) pandemic.
In an interview with Teleradyo, Año said they should strengthen coordination with the local police, the city/municipal government, and other stakeholders to be able to strictly enforce health protocols.
“That’s your job, bilang ikaw ay isang person in authority at ikaw ay binoto ng mga tao sa barangay. Kayang-kaya mo yan, kung sosolohin mo mahihirapan ka. Kaya hindi ito pwede sabihin na, hindi ko alam o malaki ang area ko. Umalis ka na lang sa puwesto mo hahanap tayo ng barangay captain na kayang gawin ang trabaho sa ganitong pandemic na panahon (You are a person in authority and you are elected by the people in the community. You can do that. You will find it hard if you do it alone. This is why you cannot say ‘I don’t know’ or ‘I have a big area’. Quit your post and we will find a barangay captain who can perform at this time of a pandemic,” he said.
He said by this time, villages should have established close coordination with private establishments with closed-circuit television (CCTV) cameras to monitor the situation within their premises.
This came after President Rodrigo Duterte reminded local officials to ensure the strict implementation of quarantine and health protocols and warned that they could also face arrest for “dereliction of duty,” in case their constituents continue to ignore anti- Covid-19 measures.
“Sa usaping pag-aresto, hindi naman yan sinasabing arestuhin kaagad ang ibig sabihin nun. kapag may nagaganap na isang super spreader event at walang ginawa ang kapitan at sa pagpunta ng ating authorities dun sa lugar na yun, isama mo na si kapitan sa pag-aresto dahil hindi niya ginawa ang kanyang trabaho (Now, when we talk of arrest, it does not mean they will be immediately arrested whenever there is a super spreader event. Now, if they did not do anything about it and our authorities are there, they better arrest also the barangay captain because he did not do his job),” he added.
Año added that village officials can start monitoring recreational facilities such as parks, basketball courts, swimming pools where gatherings usually occur.
He also advised them to tap volunteers and homeowners’ associations and used them as additional monitoring forces.
He said there are a lot of ways by which an erring village official can be sanctioned.
“Meron tayong proseso halimbawa ang city, municipal mayor, at sangguniang bayan may kapangyarihan sila puwede silang magsuspinde, mag-dismiss ng kapitan na hindi sumusunod. Pwede nating kasuhan yan through the DOJ (Department of Justice) or Ombudsman, pwede din ang power ng ating Pangulo (We have a process to follow. For instance, the city/municipal mayor or council, they have the power to suspend or dismiss defiant village chiefs. We can file complaints against them through the DOJ or Ombudsman. The President also has that power),” he said.
In a public address on Wednesday night, Duterte warned that arrest of protocol violators is now “mandatory” as they continue to defy the strict quarantine and health rules amid the pandemic.
Duterte made the pronouncement in his taped public address after Año’s report about three super spreader events that contributed to the spike in Covid-19 cases in the country.
These include the operation of a resort in Barangay 171, Caloocan City despite the modified enhanced community quarantine, a pool party in Barangay Nagkaisang Nayon in Quezon City, and a mass gathering at a river in Norzagaray, Bulacan.
