COTABATO CITY, Philippines — The police arrested Sunday a barangay chairman in Marantao, Lanao del Sur for selling coronavirus quarantine passes to constituents.

A report from the Lanao del Sur provincial police office in Marawi City said Cassar Abinal, chairman of Barangay Mantapoli in Marantao, Lanao del Sur, has been called in for questioning.

Col. Madzgani Mukaram, police director of Lanao del Sur, said Monday the operation that led to the arrest of Abinal was prompted by complaints that the barangay was charging P20 for each COVID-19 quarantine pass for residents of Barangay Mantapoli.

Many local government units in Luzon, where an enhanced community quarantine is in place, have issued quarantine passes, although at least two mayors have said these are unnecessary and are prone to abuse.

The team dispatched to investigate complaints from irate Mantapoli residents found a sign posted on the wall of their barangay hall that there was a twenty-peso fee for the quarantine passes, according to Mukaram.

Mukaram said investigators have asked the provincial office of the Bangsamoro Ministry of the Interior and Local Government help build a case against Abinal for violation of national government policies against unscrupulous collection of fees in exchange for quarantine passes.