CHR: Duterte order to detain people not wearing masks ‘prone to abuse’

The order of President Rodrigo Duterte to detain people caught without face masks in public may be “prone to excessive discretion and abuse,” the Commission on Human Rights (CHR) said Thursday.

CHR spokesperson Atty. Jacqueline de Guia underscored that disciplinary measures for violators of health protocols must be “reasonable and humane.”

“In the absence of clear guidelines, we are concerned that such directive may be prone to excessive discretion and abuse,” she said in a statement.

“Given the overcrowded conditions of jails and other detention facilities in the Philippines, detention may not be sound in preventing the further spread of COVID-19 in communities,” she added.

In a televised address Wednesday night, Duterte ordered police to investigate and detain for nine hours people who have no masks or are wearing masks improperly in public places. 

The Philippine National Police and Justice Department previously discouraged the arrest and filing of charges against quarantine violators, vouching for community service instead. 

Earlier in the day, the Interior Department said it would reconcile ordinances passed by local governments with the President’s latest directive. 

Last year, the United Nations rebuked the Philippines’ “highly militarized” response to quarantine violators that led to at least one death and several scuffles. — Julia Mari Ornedo/RSJ, GMA News