Abalos says LGUs to decide on liquor ban
BY JOCELYN MONTEMAYOR and NOEL TALACAY
THE National Capital Region will be under a longer curfew of 8 p.m. to 4 a.m. starting this Friday when it goes into a two-week enhanced community quarantine (ECQ) until August 20, Metro Manila Development Authority (MMDA) chairman Benjamin Abalos said yesterday.
Abalos, in a virtual briefing with presidential spokesman Harry Roque, said the region’s 17 mayors agreed to extend the current 12 a.m. to 4 a.m. curfew in Metro Manila in the hope of preventing the spread of the Delta variant of the coronavirus in communities and subsequently overwhelming health facilities.
The new curfew does not need the approval of the Inter-Agency Task Force (IATF) for the Management of Emerging Infectious Diseases, according to Abalos.
The National Capital Region (NCR) is under general community quarantine with heightened and additional restrictions until August 5. President Duterte approved the recommendation to place the NCR under ECQ for two weeks after the Department of Health reported the detection of more local cases of the Delta variant.
The new curfew schedule is contained in MMDA Resolution No. 21-16, Series of 2021 which was signed by the 17 Metro Manila mayors yesterday.
Aside from the curfew hours, the resolution also said that “in view of the ECQ, as warranted by the rising number of COVID-19 Delta variant cases in the NCR, there is an urgent need to regulate the mobility and movement of persons while at the same time ramping up the vaccination efforts of the national government and the local government units (LGUs) during the said period in order to broaden population protection.”
It said that authorized persons outside residence (APORs), as defined by the IATF, and individuals who are scheduled to take their COVID-19 vaccines, are exempted from the curfew hours as long as they can present documents such as a quarantine pass and a company ID.
Abalos said the imposition of a liquor ban will be up to the discretion of the LGUs.
Valenzuela, Mandaluyong, Parañaque, Pasay, Navotas, Pateros, Quezon City, and San Juan have announced that selling and buying liquor and other alcoholic beverages during the ECQ will be prohibited.
Abalos said the use of quarantine passes, which was observed during the previous implementation of the ECQ in Metro Manila, would again be required as only APORs would be allowed to go out of their homes to buy essentials or go to work.
Abalos said it would be up to LGUs if they would allow the use of the old protocol cards or issue new ones through the barangays. He said a unified quarantine pass for the NCR will not be issued due to time constraints.
Abalos said protocols during the implementation of the ECQ in March to April would be fine-tuned to make them more applicable to the present situation.
Abalos also said that the truck ban in major thoroughfares in the metropolis would be suspended during the two-week lockdown period to ensure the unhampered movement of essential goods.
In the Senate, Senate majority leader Juan Miguel Zubiri said sessions will be suspended from August 9 to 11 while the NCR is under ECQ.
Committee hearing scheduled from August 6 to 20 would also be suspended, Zubiri added.
525K CASES
Roque, in the same briefing, urged heads of families to impose a “family lockdown” to ensure that no one in their homes would go out unless for essential trips, such as to buy food and medicine or go to work.
Infectious diseases specialist Dr. Edsel Salvaña and vaccine expert consultant Dr. Rontgene Solante said the ECQ period will provide the region time to ramp up its vaccination program and eventually decrease the projected number of COVID cases.
Salvaña said if majority of the people are vaccinated, even if they have COVID cases, those completely vaccinated would have less chances of being hospitalized and getting severe infection, which lowers the pressure on the healthcare system and brings down hospital bed use.
In an interview with radio dzBB, Solante the country will not be able to handle the hospital situation if the number of cases reaches the level of Indonesia, Malaysia or Thailand.
Roque presented a projection of COVID cases until September if the NCR is placed under different levels of community quarantines.
The presentation showed that if the NCR is placed under a four-week general community quarantine (GCQ) only and the level of the vaccination drive is similar to its current phase, cases could go up to as much as 525,000 cases by September.
If the region is under a two-week ECQ and two-week modified ECQ, the cases would be trimmed down to 230,000; while if it is under a two-week ECQ and two-week GCQ, the cases could be 250,000.
Roque said projected cases would be down to 135,000 by September if the region is placed under two weeks of ECQ, two weeks of MECQ, and two weeks of GCQ.
“We expect that through the one-week additional and heightened restrictions, and two weeks ECQ, we can bring down the cases by the end of September,” Roque said referring to the August 1 to 5 GCQ with heightened and additional restriction, and August 6 to 20 ECQ in Metro Manila.
Justice Secretary Menardo Guevarra said authorities will not make a distinction between vaccinated and unvaccinated individuals during the ECQ period.
“The IATF has taken the position that at this time when majority of people have not been reached by vaccine, there will be no distinction between authorized persons outside of residence or APOR who have been vaccinated and those who have not received such vaccines,” Guevarra said.
BORDER CONTROLS
Muntinlupa chief of police Col. Melencio Maddatu Buslig warned city residents not to go out of their houses during the lockdown.
Buslig said border controls will be installed in strategic areas in the city. “Only authorized persons outside of residence (APORs) will be allowed to pass through the checkpoints,” he said.
He said the border quarantine control points will be located at the San Pedro-Tunasan boundary, Susana Heights exit, Sucat-Taguig boundary, and Biazon Road – Alabang boundary.
He said police officers will also strictly enforce the proper wearing of face masks and face shields and observance of physical distancing for those passing the checkpoints, especially those riding public utility vehicles such as jeepneys, buses, and tricycles.
“Essential workers residing in the province who work, or pass through, Muntinlupa may be allowed to pass the checkpoints provided that they present a company ID or any document justifying that they are included in the APOR list,” Buslig said. — With Ashzel Hachero and Raymond Africa
