First day of GCQ enforcement went generally well, PNP says

The first day of the general community quarantine (GCQ) in some parts of the country was generally smooth, Police Lieutenant General Guillermo Eleazar said on Saturday.

"Kahapon po (Friday) ay naging maayos naman in general, eksakto naman kasi na holiday kahapon, at ngayon ay Sabado at Linggo, so nabigyan ng opportunity ang ating law enforcement agencies para mapaghandaan ito," Eleazar, who is the Philippine National Police Deputy Chief for Operations, said at the Laging Handa public briefing.

Eleazar also reported that crime continued to decrease after the implementation of the enhanced community quarantine.

"For the past 46 days, ito 'yung nagsimula ang ating community quarantine noong March 17, hanggang kahapon (Friday), 'yung atin pong krimen ay patuloy na bumaba," he said.

Crime in Luzon was down to 67%, while Visayas to 58% and Mindanao to 51%, making a total average of 61% in the whole country, according to Eleazar.

Quarantine violators already reached 156,000, but only 41,000 or 26% were arrested, while the 67% or about 104,000 were given warnings.

Following the order for stricter enforcement of the enhanced community quarantine, violators also decreased in the last eight days.

There were only 1,900 violators arrested on May 1, from 8,000 on March 17, Eleazar reported. —Jamil Santos/LBG, GMA News