The Bohol Provincial Police Office (BPPO) has started to monitor police stations across the province to verify if they are implementing road checkpoints in a bid to ensure that social distancing is observed inside public utility vehicles (PUV).
According to BPPO spokesperson Lt. Col. Joseph Berondo, he and other officials of the Bohol police started on Tuesday to conduct rounds to inspect various municipalities.
“Tanang opisyal sa Kampo Dagohoy gitagaan og tagsa ka specific area na mahimong area supervisor to countercheck kung unsa katinuod ang gireport na gahimo og checkpoint ug ni function ba ang mga control point,” said Berondo.
Berondo said that police stations under his watch from Garcia Hernandez to Anda and Candijay complied with the directive to establish regular checkpoints.
“In fact naay mga pasahero sa Jagna na gipakanaog sa mga control point niabot mga bayntihon kay nisobra ang karga sa mga bus nato, mao na atong initial na finding,” he said.
However, he will still coordinate with other monitoring teams to determine if other towns complied with the mandate.
“Duna na tay mga nasampolan ganiha unya atong mga findings ato ning e-coordinate sa atong provincial director para matagaan nato og saktong kasulbaran ning atong mga driver na gahi gyu’g ulo na di mo tuman,” he added.
Berondo said that police stations have already been directed before to enforce health protocols set by the Department of Transportation by establishing checkpoints, but they are now seeking to “revitalize” the mandate.
Berondo admitted that they have been receiving multiple reports on PUV drivers no longer observing capacity limitations for their vehicles.
The Land Transportation Franchising and Regulatory Board earlier announced that PUVs operating in areas under modified general community quarantine such as Bohol should only take in passengers at 70 percent of its seating capacity.
“Para ni aron matubag nato ning nag balik-balik na reklamo sa atong katawhan regarding sa atong mga sakyanan na sila nay nagbuot pila ang ilang karga, para nila mura’g normal na tanan,” Berondo said.
According to Berondo, it is up to the station police chiefs as to what time they will establish the checkpoints but they are urged to set these up during rush hours.
The police official also noted that municipalities at times end up not having checkpoints due to shortage of manpower caused by COVID-19 outbreaks in some police stations.
“Ang checkpoint nato mag-agad ta sa discretion sa hepe kay siya may nasayod sa area niya ug unsa pud ka daghan ang available niya na police kay di man nato kalikayan na dunay mga estasyonan na maigo aning COVID so magpatuman pud sila sa ilang kaugaling safety protocols mao ng usahay depleted ang atoang kapulisan sa lungsod,” said Berondo.
Prior to the BPPO’s intensified drive against health safety protocol enforcement, complaints against PUV drivers were raised for filling their vehicles up to its full capacity.
The flouting of basic health safety measures such social distancing inside PUVs has been pinpointed as among possible culprits behind the rapid spread of COVID-19 in the province. (A. Doydora)