By AARON RECUENCO
Two barangay health workers tapped to implement strict measures against the spread of the novel coronavirus disease-2019 were killed while another health worker and a barangay official were seriously injured when a speeding truck rammed a quarantine control point last Friday in Maramag, Bukidnon.
Police Col. Roel Lami-ing, Bukidnon police chief, said the driver of the truck even attempted to escape after the incident, but was arrested by responding local policemen who immediately rushed to the area after learning of the accident at 11:50 p.m.
Lami-ing identified the fatalities as Jomalyn Buhayon and Margie Maribao, both health workers of Barangay North Poblacion, Maramag. They were declared dead on arrival in a nearby hospital.
Barangay councilor Aldren Gaitera and health worker Beth Lumanca were taken to the hospital.
Maramag police chief Lt. Col. Casan Ali said his men and the barangay health workers and officials were manning the community quarantine point on Sayre Highway when they noticed a speeding 10-wheel truck driven by 24-year-old Jemuel Ompoc who was drunk.
Ali said the truck damaged two motorcycles and a multicab that were parked some 150 meters away from the control point.
“The driver jumped out of the truck and attempted to run away but he was arrested by our responding personnel,” said Lami-ing.
The driver is now under police custody and facing a string of criminal charges.
In Metro Manila, Police Corporal Jay Estavillo was injured when he was hit by a sedan while manning a control point at the corner of Espana and Blumentritt in Sampaloc, Manila.
Police Major Gen. Debold Sinas, director of the National Capital Region Police Office, said that the driver of the sedan, 37-year-old Philip Anthony Ipapo, appeared to have failed to notice the policeman in the checkpoint.
Lami-ing and Sinas reminded motorists to slow down while approaching a checkpoint to prevent any untoward incidents in checkpoints during the quarantine.
METRO CRIME
RATE DROPS
Crime in Metro Manila dropped by 65 percent during the enhanced community quarantine, the NCRPO said yesterday.
“From March 15 to 20 of this year compared to last year, there is a decrease of 65 percent in the total focused crimes,” Sinas said during a command conference at the Southern Police District headquarters in Taguig City.
Sinas said they recorded 73 crimes such as murder, rape, homicide, physical injuries, robbery, theft, and carnapping compared to last year’s 211 during the same period.
He added that crimes by day from March 15 to 20 are low and only 13 crimes were recorded in the National Capital Region on March 15 and 20 on March 16.
Sinas said only three crimes were reported yesterday and attributed the low crime incidence to the quarantine that placed most of the public inside their homes.
“Kasi karamihan kasi sa publiko ay nasa bahay nila so nalessen po ang crime particularly theft and robbery,” Sinas said. (Dhel Nazario)
