DILG to public officials: Set example in following COVID-19 health protocols

Posted at Sep 07 2020 11:43 AM

MANILA – Public officials must set an example in following COVID-19 health protocols, the Department of the Interior and Local Government said Monday as police eyes monitoring social media for possible violations.

The police may only enforce virus measures in public places and arrests can only be made in areas with local ordinances, said DILG Undersecretary Epimaco Densing.

Public officials who post on social media violations of virus protocols will face administrative sanctions, he added.

“Kailangan maski kaming public officials magsisilbi kaming ehemplo sa pagsunod ng minimum public health standards,” Densing told ABS-CBN’s Teleradyo.

(Us public officials should serve as an example in following minimum public health standards.)

“Kami ay public officials, kami ang dapat nagpapatupad ng batas,” he added.

(We’re public officials, we’re supposed to be the ones implementing the law.)

Densing cited as an example Cebu Gov. Gwen Garcia who faced backlash on social media for refusing to wear a mask in public.

“Pinagsabihan namin si Gov. Gwendolyn Garcia ng Cebu dahil nagpapakita ho siya ng naglalakad nang walang face mask in public at sabi niya di naman siya mahahawaaan, that’s a very bad example on the part of the local official,” he said.

(We gave a warning to Gov. Gwendolyn Garcia of Cebu because she uploaded photos of walking in public without a face mask and said she would not contract the virus.)

Reports of possible health protocol violations will be validated, Densing said.

“Importante pa rin ang verification dahil marami pong fake news,” he said.

(Verification is important because there are a lot of fake news.)

The police will focus on complaints sent to them online and viral posts showing quarantine violations as it lacks manpower to scour millions of social media accounts, according to Lt. Gen. Guillermo Eleazar, chief of Joint Task Force COVID-19 Shield.

SOURCE: https://news.abs-cbn.com/news/09/07/20/dilg-to-public-officials-set-example-in-following-covid-19-health-protocols