NCRPO: 250 SAF troops to help in enforcing ‘hard’ lockdown in Tondo 1

A total of 250 police officers from the Philippine National Police's elite Special Action Force were deployed in Tondo, Manila to assist in the implementation of "hard" lockdown in District 1, the National Capital Region Police Office (NCRPO) said on Monday.

"We greatly appreciate the generosity of SAF in sending us augmentation in this battle against the unseen. Verily, they will be of great aid in the implementation of the hard lockdown in Tondo, Manila," NCRPO chief Police Major General Debold Sinas said in a  statement.

The hard lockdown in Tondo District 1 started at 5 a.m. on May 3.  It will end on May 5 at 5 a.m.

The city government of Manila decided to implement a hard lockdown in the area to prevent the further spread of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) and allow for the conduct of mass testing among suspected cases.

Earlier, a total of 1,000 policemen from the Manila Police District have been deployed to enforce the hard lockdown. — Anna Felicia Bajo/RSJ, GMA News