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Camotes Island party event 'clear violation' of health protocols —Eleazar
By CONSUELO MARQUEZ,GMA NewsThe Philippine National Police (PNP) on Sunday said the reported beach party in the municipality of San Francisco, Camotes Island in Cebu province showed a clear violation of public health protocols.
The PNP said it is conducting a probe into the alleged mass gathering.
Previous reports cited a video that was filmed on July 10 which showed a party held at a resort wherein attendees were not wearing face masks and face shields
. The party happened after a fun ride and fun run, allegedly organized by Cebu Representative Duke Frasco.In a Dobol B TV interview, PNP chief Police General Guillermo Eleazar said mass gatherings are not allowed even if Cebu was under modified general community quarantine (MGCQ) last July. MGCQ is the transition phase between general community quarantine and the new normal.
"'Yun po ay i-fo-follow up natin dahil kahit 'yan ay MGCQ at that time, 'yung mass gathering hindi justifiable (We are following up the case and even if it was MGCQ at that time, mass gathering isn't justifiable)," he said.
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Eleazar further pointed out that failure to follow COVID-19 safety protocols is a violation of guidelines during community quarantine.
"The fact na nakita natin na maraming walang face mask doon (The fact that the face mask policy was not followed), that is a clear violation of our guidelines," he pointed out.
Police will continue to investigate and file appropriate complaints even as the event happened a month ago, Eleazar added.
After the event occurred, data from the Department of Health showed that there was a 125% increase in the number of COVID-19 cases in San Francisco.
Cebu Governor Gwendolyn Garcia, meanwhile, defended Frasco, who is also her son-in-law, saying that the video was circulated due to politics as election season nears. —KG, GMA News