Sermonia named new JTF Covid-19 Shield commander

MANILA – Philippine National Police (PNP) chief, Gen. Dionardo Carlos, has appointed Lt. Gen. Rhodel Sermonia as the new Joint Task Force (JTF) Covid-19 Shield commander.

"Effective Wednesday, March 2, Lt. Gen. Sermonia is designated as the (PNP) deputy chief for operations and concurrent Task Force commander of the enforcement arm of the national government in the implementation of quarantine rules and health protocols," Carlos said in a statement Wednesday night.

Sermonia, the current PNP deputy chief for operations, replaced Lt. Gen. Israel Ephraim Dickson, who was promoted as PNP deputy chief for administration, the second in command of the PNP.

"As the new commander of this Task Force, I expect Lt. Gen. Sermonia will continue the plans and programs of the previous commander and enforce minimum health protocols for us to fully mitigate the deadly virus," Carlos said.

The JTF Covid-19 Shield is composed of members of the PNP, the Armed Forces of the Philippines (AFP), the Philippine Coast Guard, and the Bureau of Fire Protection.

As this developed, the PNP said that it has heightened monitoring of social activities movement of people in public areas with Alert Level 1 now in effect up to March 15.

Carlos said the first day of implementation to areas classified under alert level 1 is generally peaceful, with no untoward incident reported.

Unit commanders in areas under Alert Level 1 are implementing protocols in coordination with their respective local government units (LGUs).

Quarantine control points established under higher alert levels can be converted to law enforcement checkpoints or Commission on Elections (Comelec) checkpoints upon proper coordination with the local Inter-Agency Task Force.

Meanwhile, some 6,766 PNP personnel are deployed in quarantine control points around the country.

This coincides with the Comelec-PNP-Armed Forces of the Philippines (AFP) checkpoints that are in place during this election period.

The PNP has also observed a heavier traffic flow in areas under Alert Level 1 with more private vehicles going out to the streets and public transport is now allowed to carry passengers in full capacity.

“We are coordinating with the different government agencies and offices to better monitor the traffic flow and assist in the enforcement of traffic rules,” Carlos said. (with Priam Nepomuceno/PNA)