By Chito Chavez Coming to the defense of the President, Department of the Interior and Local Government (DILG) Secretary Eduardo Año on April 2, Thursday, maintained that the “shoot to kill order” the Chief Executive gave to the police is within the context of when a violator of the law threatens the life or can inflict extreme harm on the law enforcer. DILG Secretary Eduardo M. Año (DILG / MANILA BULLETIN) Año insisted that government had always respected people’s rights, including even those from the lawless elements, but stressing there was a “qualifier” in the President’s latest remarks ordering security forces to shoot those who will cause violence and atrocities during this period of public health emergency brought by the COVID-19 pandemic. Año noted the President meant to send a strong message directed at lawless elements and left-leaning groups, for them to think twice before staging illegal protest actions in the middle of the health crisis. Duterte had also warned those people who would threaten frontline health workers, following reports that they were being discriminated at and even attacked. Short of downplaying the remark, Año said the President was just emphasizing the importance of all medical personnel amid the COVID-19 threat. The DILG chief hopes that the President’s words will also send shivers down the spines of corrupt local officials who might want to take advantage of the emergency crisis. The President’s remarks came after an urban poor group from Sitio San Roque in Quezon City on April 1 set up a barricade along EDSA, denouncing the local government for its failure to provide relief assistance. The QC government has since insisted that food packs are continually being distributed in the city, through the city hall and the barangays, to provide assistance to the estimated two million residents severely affected by the Luzon-wide enhanced community quarantine (ECQ). In an official statement, the QC LGU explained that “as per Commission on Audit (COA) guidelines, all recipients of food packs must be properly documented and the city government wishes to assure the public that this is strictly being complied with, and documents are available for scrutiny in the interest of transparency.” Despite the incident, Mayor Joy Belmonte ordered city personnel to review the list of qualified beneficiaries to “make sure nobody has been inadvertently left out.” Task Force Disiplina action officer Rannie Ludovica, based on his investigations, found that residents who were along North EDSA were allegedly told by someone who claimed to be a TV news crew that food packs would be distributed to Sitio San Roque residents yesterday, and that the Department of Social Welfare and Development (DSWD) would also be distributing cash. Residents were disgruntled after discovering that there was neither food nor cash distribution happening, Ludovica said. “Instead, they were allegedly instigated by yet to be determined personalities to hold a rally and claim that the local government has not distributed any food packs in their area. Upon further questioning, however, some residents acknowledged that they did receive food packs,” the investigation report reads. Quezon City Police District (QCPD) officials restored order and arrested the supposed instigators for violation of ECQ rules, particularly on holding mass gatherings. Belmonte, however, appealed to the QCPD to release the detainees in the interim for humanitarian reasons, with a warning that as per the President’s directive, using a crisis to incite chaos, anarchy, panic, confusion, and sedition is punishable by law under the Revised Penal Code and the Bayanihan To Heal As One Act. “The sectors most affected by the ECQ are reminded that if they have not yet received their food packs, they may report this to their respective barangays,” the statement concluded.