Cainta doctor forced to walk to Pasig after being stopped at checkpoint

A medical doctor from Cainta, Rizal was forced to walk to Pasig City in Metro Manila on Tuesday after his vehicle was stopped at the checkpoint due to the Luzon-wide enhanced community quarantine.

According to Mark Makalalad's report on Dobol B sa News TV on Tuesday, the doctor, who identified himself as Dr. Eugenio,  lamented that his vehicle was stuck at the checkpoint on Eastbank Road bordering Cainta and Pasig City for three and a half hours.

“Pupunta ako sa barangay medical clinic. Kailangan ako roon eh,” Eugenio said.

“I-report niyo na ito. Three and half hours, andun kami. Alas singko [ng umaga], hindi kami makapunta rito,” he added.

WATCH: Isang doctor, hindi makapasok sa trabaho sa ospital dahil naipit sa checkpoint sa Eastbank Road sa Pasig; Hindi makadaan ang kanyang sasakyan dahil sa mabigat na daloy ng trapiko @dzbb @gmanews pic.twitter.com/MjRcluQJtk

— Mark Makalalad (@MMakalalad) March 17, 2020

In a Twitter post, Makalalad said a motorcycle rider who was going to fetch his wife was stopped from crossing the Cainta-Pasig boundary.

“Susunduin ko po ang asawa ko sa Cubao, nagtatrabaho sa BPO. Naglakad na po siya hanggang diyan sa may Ligaya. Buntis pa naman po, three months,” the motorcycle rider said.

The enhanced community quarantine, as declared by President Rodrigo Duterte on Monday, included a ban on public transportation. This resulted in commuters and motorists crowding checkpoint areas placed at the boundaries of provinces and Metro Manila.

The quarantine was part of government efforts to prevent the further spread of the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19), which has so far afflicted 142 people in the Philippines as of Monday. Of the  number, 12 had died while three recovered. —Llanesca T. Panti/KBK/KG, GMA News