Local execs will have say on liquor ban
BY IRMA ISIP and JOCELYN MONTEMAYOR
ECONOMIC managers yesterday recommended the limited reopening of barber shops and salons, as well as dine-in services, even as the modified enhanced community quarantine (MECQ) in Metro Manila and the provinces of Bulacan, Cavite, Laguna and Rizal, collectively called the NCR Plus, is extended from May 1 to 14.
Trade Secretary Ramon Lopez said the recommendation has been submitted to the Inter-Agency Task Force on the Management of Emerging Infectious Diseases (IATF-EID), which was set to meet yesterday to update government guidelines for the MECQ classification.
Lopez said the task force will have the final say on the capacity to be allowed but economic managers have recommended that personal services like barber shops and salons be opened at 20 to 30 percent, while dine-in services be allowed at 10 to 20 percent.
He added sectors or activities in the MECQ negative list like indoor sports, entertainment, game arcades and cinemas will remain prohibited.
At the “Laging Handa” public briefing, Trade Undersecretary Ruth Castelo said malls will likely be allowed to stay open until 10 p.m. following the decision of Metro mayors to shorten the curfew hours to 10 p.m. to 4 a.m.
Castelo said liquor bans will be determined by LGUs.
Lopez said the partial reopening of businesses would see the reinstatement of part of the estimated 1.2 million workers in personal services and in restaurants in the NCR Plus.
Presidential spokesman Harry Roque said the prolonged MECQ will have an impact on the economy but government is hoping to ease it by opening some industries.
“Ito po ay sang-ayon doon sa ating goal ‘na i-promote po ang total health ng mga mamamayan, mabawasan ang mga kaso ng COVID at itaguyod po ang hanapbuhay ng mga mamamayan nang hindi naman sila magutom (This is in line with our goal to promote the total health of the people, reduce the cases of COVID and promote the livelihood and employment of the people so they will not go hungry,” Roque said.
President Duterte approved on Wednesday night the IATF recommendation to extend the MECQ in the NCR Plus due to the still high number of COVID-19 cases and the near-full capacity of hospitals and other medical facilities in the bubble.
Santiago City in Quirino and Abra province are also under MECQ until May 31. On the other hand, Apayao, Baguio City, Benguet, Ifugao, Kalinga, Mountain Province, Cagayan, Isabela, Nueva Vizcaya, Batangas, Quezon, Tacloban, Iligan City, Davao City, and Lanao del Sur are under general community quarantine (GCQ), while the rest of the country is under modified general community quarantine (MGCQ).
Roque said that under the extended lockdown classification, stay-home restrictions will not be relaxed even as more businesses will be allowed to open at limited capacities to help spur economic recovery.
The independent OCTA Research Team yesterday said Metro Manila can ease to general community quarantine when daily COVID-19 cases drop to 2,000 and below.
“We’re hoping that the cases will be reduced to less than 2,000 per day in the NCR,” said OCTA Research fellow Guido David in a television interview, adding: “If the number of daily average cases in NCR goes below 2,000, while it will still be a significant number, I believe we can still manage it even under GCQ.”
“We’re optimistic, although we haven’t seen the guidelines. Maybe the decrease will be slower, but we’re hoping the downward trend will continue. If it’s less than 2,800, there are more people getting discharged from hospitals compared to admissions. That would mean our hospitals would start to loosen up,” he added.
David expressed hope that the two-week extension of the MECQ in Metro Manila will help further reduce the number of new cases and bring it down to below 3,000.
Roque said the two-week extension would give government enough time to improve the healthcare capacity, including increasing the number of intensive care unit (ICU) beds especially in areas with high number of COVID-19 cases.
Roque said that while the COVID-19 attack rate and reproduction rate have gone down in the past weeks, the hospital and ICU bed utilization rates, especially in the NCR Plus bubble, remain high.
He said the government does not want to waste the gains of the one-week travel bubble earlier enforced in the NCR Plus, the two- week enhanced community quarantine from March 29 to April, and the existing MECQ, which is why the IATF opted to recommend the extension of the classification.
On Wednesday night. the President apologized for the extension, which he said is necessary to address the still-high number of COVID-19 cases and hospital congestion in the NCR Plus.
“To my countrymen, I apologize. I’m sorry that I have to impose a longer, modified enhanced community because it is needed. There is a spike in infections and the hospitals are full,” he said, as he reiterated the need to follow health protocols to stop the spread of the virus so the country can start recovering from the pandemic.
“Let us follow (the rules) because this is for everyone. I am the last person who would want to disturb your life. I always say, I want the people to be comfortable. So sometimes you have to interdict or intervene because it is of national interest,” he added.
Also on Wednesday night, the President warned local government officials, particularly mayors and barangay captains, that he will hold them accountable for violations of minimum health guidelines that will result in the spike of COVID-19 cases in their areas.
During his weekly public address, he noted the continued violation of minimum health protocols in some areas, including those which continue to hold festivities or gatherings, despite the imposition of community quarantines.
He said local officials such as mayors and barangay captains could be penalized under the law for not enforcing the health protocols during the pandemic.
Duterte said he will not accept excuses from local officials, especially from barangay officials, that they are not aware of the laws and policies or what is happening in their jurisdictions.
He said the Department of Interior and Local Government (DILG) will slap administrative and criminal charges against erring local executives.
“I will hold responsible and I will direct the secretary of the Local Government, DILG, to hold the mayors responsible for these kinds of events happening in their places. It is a violation of the law and if you do not enforce the law, there is a dereliction of duty which is punishable under the Revised Penal Code. So, the DILG can proceed against you for not doing your duty as mayor or as a barangay captain,” he said. — With Gerard Naval
