BY ADRIAN P. NEMES III
The number of health protocol violators in Bacolod City reached 34,151, as of Monday, P/Lt. Col. Lester Leada, head of the City Police Office Operations Branch, said yesterday.
Leada said improper or failure to wear face masks topped the number of violators with 11,072, followed by those who disobey the curfew ordinance, and those who refused to wear face shields at 8,514 and 7,324, respectively.
He said 4,059 were caught for violating the liquor ban while 3,182 were not following the social distancing protocol of at least a meter’s distance.
Sammy Montoyo, head of Task Force Disiplina, said they will continue to arrest and reprimand those who continue to defy the health protocols in Bacolod.
Montoyo said they find it hard to make people in the markets, small eateries, and coffee shops obey and they are the ones usually caught not observing social distancing and the proper use of face masks.
He also clarified that face shields, under City Ordinance 944, should only be used in enclosed places, or while riding in public utility vehicles.
Montoyo also said he will bring up the issue of dilapidated and old plastic barriers in jeepneys and the report that some of them are overcrowded with passengers, especially during nighttime, in a meeting with the Land Transportation Office.
The public is advised to report overcrowded public utility vehicles to the police or to traffic enforcers, he added.
Leada said health protocol violators were not taken into custody but were given citation tickets and warned, adding that they have intensified their operations following the detection of the Delta variant in Bacolod.
Under City Ordinance 944, those caught violating the health protocols are fined P200 each if they are from Bacolod, and P300 for out-of-towners, he said.*
