MANILA – Philippine National Police (PNP) chief Gen. Guillermo Eleazar has asked the motorist on Monday to be patient as long lines of vehicles are expected at quarantine control points as the National Capital Region (NCR) is placed under enhanced community quarantine (ECQ) on August 6 to prevent the transmission of the Delta variant.
Eleazar urged motorists to prepare the necessary documents and IDs to be presented to police officers stationed at checkpoints.
“Hinihingi din namin ang kooperasyon ng ating mga kababayan na manatili na lang sa bahay kung kinakailangan dahil hindi din naman sila papayagan pumasok sa Metro Manila at magiging bahagi lang sila ng suliranin sa trapiko at baka mahawa pa sila ng Delta dahil sa katigasan ng ulo, lalo na kung hindi naman sila bakunado (We ask for the cooperation of our fellow Filipinos to stay home. They won’t be allowed to enter Metro Manila and they would only add to the traffic plus they might get infected with the Delta variant, especially when they haven’t been vaccinated yet),” Eleazar said.
Border checkpoints were placed at NCR Plus regions beginning August 1, in accordance with the direction to restrict mobility and ensuring that only essential travel and services, and movement of goods are permitted.
“Bilang dating commander ng Joint Task Force Covid Shield, nakita ko based on experience ang matinding traffic sa mga border control points sa bawat pagpapatupad ng mahigpit na quarantine rules sa Metro Manila kaya naman nagkaroon kami noon ng mga istratehiya upang mabawasan ang traffic buildup na siya namang inaasahan kong ipatupad lalo na sa pagsisimula ng ECQ implementation sa Aug. 6 (As the former commander of Joint Task Force Covid Shield, I knew based on experience the traffic jam that would be experienced in the border control points on the implementation of tighter quarantine rules in Metro Manila. We have also come up with strategies to reduce the traffic buildup which I expect to be implemented this coming Aug. 6),” Eleazar said.
Among the tactics are specific control stations for the seamless movement of cargo and trucks transporting important commodities, as well as enabling all vehicles to pass to alleviate traffic congestion. These cars, however, would be subjected to random inspections.
