NCR curfew hours retained

8 PM - 4 AM

MANILA, Philippines — The latest modified enhanced community quarantine is MECQ “with restrictions,” according to Malacañang.

This means, among others, that the current eight-hour curfew in Metro Manila stays despite the shift to MECQ until the end of the month, Metro Manila Council (MMC) chairman and Parañaque Mayor Edwin Olivarez said yesterday.

“We would retain the 8 in the evening to 4 in the morning curfew. That is the same, it would not be changed for now,” Olivarez told dzMM.

Restrictions on mass transportation will also be retained.

Metropolitan Manila Development Authority (MMDA) Chairman Benhur Abalos confirmed the retention of curfew hours, but quarantine passes will no longer be required.

He said exercising outside would also be allowed “from 6 to 9 in the morning only” as long as health protocols are followed.

Decision

Malacañang yesterday said “limiting the number of hungry people” is the reason why government opted to downgrade the quarantine status in Metro Manila, Bataan and Laguna, despite rising COVID-19 cases.

Metro Manila and Laguna will be under MECQ starting today until Aug. 31, while Bataan will be under MECQ from Aug. 23 to 31.

Under MECQ, dine-in services, religious events and personal care services are still not allowed, although more businesses can operate at 50 percent capacity.

“The decision was made because what we really want is total health – reduce the number of COVID-19 cases at the same time limit the number of hungry people,” presidential spokesman Harry Roque said over Radyo Pilipinas.

In an interview over dzRH yesterday, Roque revealed that for the first time, the Inter-agency Task Force for the Management of Emerging Infectious Diseases (IATF) resorted to “secret balloting” in deciding on the new quarantine classification for NCR, Laguna and Bataan, noting that its members were divided over whether to extend the ECQ or downgrade to MECQ.

Suspended

The Commission on Elections (Comelec) yesterday said voter’s registration and issuance of voter’s certification will be suspended in MECQ areas of NCR, Laguna and Bataan due to the high number of COVID-19 cases.

Comelec Commissioner Rowena Guanzon also said that the Sept. 30 registration deadline will not be extended as it would “cause other problems and affect the timeline of preparations for the May 9 elections.”

Supreme Court administrator Midas Marquez announced that all courts in NCR, except the SC, would be physically closed during the MECQ but operations will continue online for urgent incidents and cases.

Meanwhile, the Philippine National Police (PNP) said that 135,597 persons were apprehended in NCR for violating COVID-19 protocols from Aug. 6 to 19. If the adjoining provinces of Bulacan, Laguna, Cavite and Rizal are included, the number climbs to 396,049, while nationwide, total apprehensions stand at 629,453.

Bagong Alyansang Makabayan (Bayan) secretary general Renato Reyes yesterday argued that imposing ECQ or MECQ makes no difference if there will be no significant improvement in health measures instituted against COVID-19.  –  Emmanuel Tupas, Robertzon Ramirez, Rhodina Villanueva