The Cabinet members of President Rodrigo Duterte urged local government units to shorten curfew hours to aid the country in reviving its economy amid the COVID-19 pandemic.
Presidential spokesperson Harry Roque Jr. said in an interview on PTV that the officials recommended making the curfew hours 12 midnight to 4 a.m.
“Iyan po ay rekomendasyon ng Gabinete, pero siyempre po dahil magpapasa sila ng ordinansa, nasa lokal na pamahalaan po iyan,” he said.
(It’s one of the recommendations of the Cabinet. But of course, the local government still needs to pass the ordinance.)
San Juan City had already adjusted its curfew hours from 10 p.m. to 5 a.m. to 12 midnight to 5 a.m., even before the Cabinet’s recommendation.
The Cabinet has also approved the economic team’s recommendations to expand the age bracket who would be allowed to out and the implementation of the one-seat-apart policy in public transport.
Davao lengthens curfew hours
Meanwhile, the opposite is happening in Davao City after its mayor, presidential daughter Sara Duterte made the city’s curfew hours longer.
Mayor Sara Duterte extended the curfew hours in the city from the previous 9 pm to 5 am to 7 pm to 5 am starting Thursday, October 15, 2020.
The mayor also imposed a liquor ban from 7 pm to 5 am through Executive Order 55.
Drinking in public places like roads, alleys, open spaces, and other similar places at any given time are no longer allowed.
Mayor Sara Duterte, daughter of President Rodrigo Duterte, cited the longer curfew hours and liquor ban were to fight the COVID-19 transmission in the city.
“This is based on interviews of confirmed COVID-19 patients. We have seen their movement and deemed it necessary to regulate the non-essential activities of the people,” she said on Davao City Disaster Radio.
Mayor Duterte also said the number of beds for COVID-19 patients in the Davao-based Southern Philippines Medical Center (SPMC) is already critical.
Curfew hours in Davao City were initially eased to 9 pm to 5 am on July 31 when the city shifted to modified general community quarantine protocol.
Mayor Duterte also asked offices, business establishments, worship places, and other institutions to adjust their operating hours.