Joint Task Force COVID-19 Shield commander Police Lieutenant General Guillermo Eleazar suggested yesterday that curfew should be added under the new normal in connection with the pandemic of coronavirus disease 2019.
Eleazar made the suggestion in conjunction with the announcement that the number of crimes was reduced during the implementation of enhanced community quarantine as a way of preventing the spread of the virus.
Eleazar, who is also deputy chief for operations of the Philippine National Police, said the number of crimes in Luzon has dropped by 61% since the ECQ was implemented here.
“Maganda ang resulta ng pagpapatupad ng curfew. Maalis man itong mga community quarantine, tingin ko, napakagandang intervention na merong curfew sa gabi if you’re a non-worker,” he said.
(The curfew implementation gave good results. Whether the community quarantine is lifted, curfew during the night of non-workers is a significant intervention.)
“Dati ‘yung issue about curfew before ECQ, parang ang hirap tanggapin ng ating mga kababayan. Dapat maging bahagi ito ng ‘new normal,” he added.
(Our countrymen found it hard to accept the issue about curfew before ECQ before. This should be part of the “new normal.”)
Eleazar explained that there are a motive and opportunity for crime. In curfew enforcement, he said, it reduces the chance for an individual to commit a crime.
He further noted that, with police visibility in the general community quarantine (GCQ) areas, the opportunity to commit crimes decreases because the police will arrest people who are unauthorized to go out of their homes.
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Curfew in the ‘new normal’
The Philippine National Police (PNP) announced last month that the crime rate in the country dropped by 55 percent or 1,852 fewer crimes in the first three weeks of ECQ and curfew.
Data released by the Joint Task Force Covid-19 Shield on Friday showed that from the 3,361 crimes recorded from February 22 to March 16 — also a period of 24 days — the number went down to 1,509 from March 17 to April 9, 2020.
The data included what the PNP considers as focus crimes, which are murder, homicide, physical injury, rape, robbery, theft, and theft of motor vehicles.
The ECQ for NCR and other provinces is supposed to end on May 15. The government, however, said some cities in Metro Manila would remain under ECQ.
As of Sunday (May 10), the Philippines recorded a total of 10,794 COVID-19, including 1,924 recoveries and 719 deaths.