Task force, police finding out how many students stranded in dorms due to ECQ

May 13, 2020

The commander of the Joint Task Force COVID Shield on Wednesday said they are  coordinating with police to find out how many students stranded in dormitories and boarding houses due to the enhanced community quarantine (ECQ).

Police Lt. General Guillermo Lorenzo Eleazar said this is in support to President Rodrigo Duterte’s “Hatid Estudyante” program where they will assist locally stranded individuals (LSIs) to return to their hometowns.

The task force is coming up with data relating to their number,  areas where they were stranded, their points of destination and their health condition.

“This is to ensure that he entire processing will be expedited and the travel arrangements will be ironed out,” Eleazar said.

“Our Chief PNP (Police General Archie  Francisco Gamboa) himself, being a family man, is concerned with the stress that both the students and their family, especially the parents, are going into amid the threat of the COVID-19,” he added.

The JTF COVID Shield is in charge of processing  travel documents of stranded persons who want to go back to their hometowns.

Once sufficient data is gathered, Eleazar said travel arrangements that include medical clearance certificate, travel authority, certificate of acceptance from the receiving local government units, could be done in en masse for the stranded persons with the same points of destination.

He expects that police commanders would initiate the data-gathering down to the barangay level for the LSIs.

In Tuesday's public address, Duterte promised to provide  transportation and allowance of  students on their way back to their hometowns.

Eleazar appealed to barangay officials to take the lead in assisting stranded students by coordinating with local police chiefs who also serve as the commanders of the local JTF COVID Shield units. Ella Dionisio/DMS