Churches open with 10% capacity

I wasn’t joking when I wrote last Monday that Cebu City should support the two golf courses, the Cebu Country Club and the Alta Vista Golf and Country Club, during this time of the global pandemic when many businesses have to be closed. These two golf clubs have become an integral part of the tourism growth of Cebu City.

For the past five months, many businesses have to shut down because of the lockdown, which means the entrepreneurs of these businesses have to request the building owners or shopping malls for assistance, like free rentals, while they are closed. This so that when things get better, they can reopen as soon as it is possible. This also means that realty corporations that lease a lot of rentable spaces have to accommodate these requests, thus realty corporations are the biggest losers in this shutdown game.

As far as the two golf courses go, we were told that the board of directors continue to exact payment for their monthly dues even if these golf clubs are on shutdown and no one could play golf or even use the clubs’ facilities at all. I can only second-guess that the BODs have not made any arrangements with the city government regarding the fact that, thanks to this global pandemic, our foreign tourists who come to Cebu to play golf have totally vanished and, therefore, these golf courses now need the help of the city regarding the high realty taxes that they have to pay.

Nearly four years ago, before I had my kidney transplant, I played golf four times a week -- three times in Country Club and once a week in Alta Vista. I had to stop simply because the club could not change my handicap. So in my own way of protest, I stopped playing golf. If you didn’t know, the Cebu Country Club was a second home to me. I had a set of clothes that if I had a party to go; I really didn’t go home to dress up but just go to the club. This was more pronounced when Typhoon Ruping hit Cebu City in 1990 and we had no power and water in our homes, so we went to Country Club as it was our second home.

But during these times, the two clubs are partially opened. I still believe that the boards of directors should have looked into the plight of their members who cannot use any of the facilities. More importantly, they should go out and negotiate some kind of discount deal with the city because of this pandemic. Come now, is this too much to ask?

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I read in the news that Cebu City Mayor Edgardo Labella has issued an executive order allowing churches to increase mass attendance. Apparently, the Inter-Agency Task Force (IATF) has finally approved the request increasing the seating capacity of churchgoers to 10 percent of total capacity in the city. Honestly, I do not understand what they mean here: 10% capacity of all churches in Cebu City or is it 10% capacity of every church?

I understand that Mayor Labella had a meeting with church representatives right away, including pastoral guards, to discuss the details and safety protocols among churchgoers. Wearing a face mask and social distancing are a must. Including hygienic necessities on the premises is also advised. I just hope that churches are prepared to handle this situation. I mean, washing of hands is something we never did in the church, so this means that the churches must now put washrooms in their respective premises.

Mayor Labella also included visits to open air memorial parks and cemeteries that are now also allowed, but limited only to a maximum of 10 people per group. As the mayor pointed out, “the number of groups allowed at any given time shall be left to the discretion of the management of such memorial parks and cemeteries taking into consideration minimum public health standards and social distancing.”

The Basilica Minore del Santo Niño de Cebu also announced to the public that it will already resume its masses after it recently reopened to the public earlier this month. The shrine was closed to the public last month when some of its personnel got infected with COVID-19.

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