CITY OF SAN FERNANDO — Gov. Dennis “Delta”Pineda has not declared a 24-hour curfew over Pampanga.
The provincial government “set the record straight” in the wake of concerns raised in the internet and cascaded down to the barangays that a 24-hour curfew was being “strictly implemented” in the whole of Pampanga.
Provincial administrator Atty. Charlie Chua explained: “The [provincial] board gave the governor an authority to place the province or any portion thereof under curfew in case of public health emergency. It was passed on March 16 while we were still under general quarantine. In the evening of March 16, Malacañang placed Luzon under Enhanced Community Quarantine. Under that memorandum of Malacañang, we are technically under 24-hour curfew.”
Chua was referencing SP Ordinance No. 755 “…providing for measures and regulations in public health emergencies and/or in case of declaration of state of calamity for purposes of rapid containment and prevention of the [Covid-19] and other infectious diseases, such as but not limited to curfew, quarantine and/or lockdown…”
Read “Section 1 – Declaration or Imposition of Curfew – Whenever a State of Public Health Emergency or calamity is declared by the competent authorities, the Provincial Governor, may at his discretion, order or place the province or any portion thereof under curfew on such time or hours of the day or night, as may be deemed and provided for via executive orders or issuances and the same shall be in full force and effect until such time said emergency or calamity has ceased or that the curfew is otherwise lifted by the Governor.”
In the evening of March 16, President Duterte said: “I have come to the conclusion that stricter measures are necessary. For this reason, pursuant to my powers as President under the Constitution and RA 11332 (Law on Reporting of Communicable Diseases), I am placing the entire mainland of Luzon under quarantine until April 12, 2020.“
The presidential order “superseded all curfew orders,”Chua said.
In the aftermath of the declaration of Luzon under enhanced community quarantine there was no separate SP ordinance imposing a curfew in Pampanga.
24-hour ECQ in effect
In a recent media interview, Pampanga police director Col. Jean Fajardo clarified:
“Technically, there is a 24-hour curfew but what really is in effect is a 24-hour enhanced community quarantine when you must just stay in your home all the time so that the spread of Covid-19 is stopped and you are protected from it.”
From what Punto! gathered, only Angeles City Mayor Carmelo “Pogi” Lazatin and Porac Mayor Jing Capil have approved ordinances explicitly declaring curfews in their respective areas.
