Sun and arrest

Every day at around 10 a.m., I soak in natural Vitamin D – sunlight on my back for five to 10 minutes.

In this pandemic, I think more people are doing this, even from the open windows or porches of their homes in areas under some form of lockdown.

Various health websites have different views on the best time for getting sunlight. Some say morning sun is the best and safest to avoid skin cancer; others say pounding noontime rays maximize Vitamin D; others say it depends on skin pigmentation – the darker the color, the greater the sun exposure requirement so 11 a.m. to 2 p.m. is best. But there is general agreement that beyond 15 minutes of sun exposure, you need sunblock to prevent melanoma.

Dr. Susan Pineda Mercado, presidential envoy of the President for global health initiatives, told News5 the other day that sunlight boosts the immune system. During the community quarantine, she said, people should be given the opportunity, where possible and abiding by physical distancing rules, to take in some sun.

If space allows and sensible people actively practice physical distancing, without violating quarantine or curfew hours, why stop them from getting some sunlight?

She issued the statement amid recent incidents involving residents of condominium buildings and private subdivisions being told to avoid common areas for exercising and taking in some sun.

Presidential spokesman Harry Roque, who had health problems last year and understands the importance of exercise, sunlight and air, said common sense should prevail.

He did not go into details. But obviously, if there are too many people trying to get some sun in a cramped space, physical distancing of three to six feet is impossible.

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On “The Chiefs” the other night on Cignal TV’s One News, we asked Brig. Gen. Bernard Banac if the Philippine National Police had any specific quarantine guidelines on private villages and condominium buildings. The PNP spokesman told us that it was up to the homeowners to make their own rules, in accordance with quarantine rules. The PNP can assist if requested by the homeowners.

Unless distancing can be enforced, people will just have to wait until quarantine rules are relaxed to enjoy the outdoors. Also, time spent in common outdoor areas must be limited, for everyone’s health and safety. But if there’s wide-open space for health buffs, there are more health advantages to allowing people to get some sun at certain hours.

On the other hand, if you’re within your own spacious backyard, especially if it’s shielded from public view, you can soak in the sun as much as you want. Unless you break some law – on public decency, for example, if you can be seen from the street padding around naked.

Or, according to Banac, if you cuss and insult a cop or other person in authority who’s trying to enforce quarantine rules.

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That video of a policeman tackling half-naked Spanish expat Javier Salvador Parra on his driveway in Dasmariñas Village has gone viral.

The PNP is being accused of going overboard in enforcing quarantine rules, and then trespassing on private property and trying to make an arbitrary arrest.

Upon the request of the Dasmariñas barangay captain, the PNP had sent a team to accompany barangay personnel in enforcing quarantine rules in the village that is home to many foreign diplomats, other expats plus several of the country’s .001 percent such as Sen. Manny Pacquiao.

Passing the home of Parra and his wife, the police team chanced upon a helper watering plants outside his house without a mask. The helper went inside and informed her employers that the cops and barangay personnel had told her to wear a mask.

Parra then went out and reportedly began cussing the police and barangay personnel. Initial reports said Parra appeared drunk. After a heated argument, Senior M/Sgt. Roland Von Madrona tried to arrest Parra, following the Spaniard on the driveway, which did not have a gate, and tackled the foreigner. Parra managed to wriggle free and enter his house, and Madrona did not chase him.

Banac said Parra was being arrested for disobedience and disrespect to a person in authority, and subsequently for resisting arrest. There was a continuing crime so Madrona could have carried out the warrantless arrest even inside the foreigner’s house, Banac explained.

The video, on the other hand, also gave the impression – especially among people already concerned about the heavy-handedness of the tokhang administration – that people can be arrested and tackled by a cop right inside one’s own driveway because the maid did not wear a mask while watering the plants outside the house.

On The Chiefs, Banac reassured the public anew that the PNP respects human rights and privacy laws, and enforcement of quarantine rules continue to be refined.

The Dasmariñas incident, he said, was “an isolated incident” – like the heated argument between cops and residents sunning themselves at the common pool area at the Pacific Plaza condominium, and the fatal shooting of a retired Army corporal by another police officer at a quarantine checkpoint in Quezon City.

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This early, there’s talk again of yet another two-week extension of the enhanced community quarantine in Metro Manila, epicenter of the COVID contagion in the country, until the end of May – simply because there are too many people who still need to be subjected to COVID testing.

In other areas, quarantine measures are even getting tighter. Yesterday, the entire Cavite was placed under a “24-hour curfew” as the contagion worsened in the province. In the city of Manila, Mayor Isko Moreno is set to place Tondo’s District 1, Sta. Cruz, San Andres and Malate under “hard lockdown” similar to the one last week in Sampaloc, to discipline pasaway quarantine violators.

We’ll be enduring many more months of certain types of restrictions in the way we do business. Those in charge of enforcing the rules need to finesse their protocols.