Manila shortens curfew hours, increases church, mosque capacity

Mayor Francisco “Isko Moreno” Domagoso shortened the curfew hours and increased the capacity of churches and mosques in Manila City.

Starting October 21 until November 30, Mayor Isko said that the curfew in Manila would start from 12 a.m. to 4 a.m., from the current 10 p.m. to 5 a.m.

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The mayo added it would be further shortened by an hour — 12 a.m. to 3 a.m. — after December 1.

“With the help of the vice mayor and the city council… we are going to adjust our curfew hours, and hopefully it will pass today in the city council,” Domagoso told reporters on Monday, October 19.

However, Mayor Isko said the 8 p.m. curfew for minors would not be lifted.

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“Let me remind that there is still also an existing ordinance that never na-amyendahan, ‘yung ating curfew na 8 [pm] sa minors (that was never amended, our 8 p.m. curfew for minors). Still effective, it’s still being implemented, and parents are going to be held liable if they’re irresponsible, allowing their minors to be outside of their home come 8 p.m. every day. So tuloy pa rin sila (It is still in effect),” he said.

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Manila shortens curfew hours, increases church, mosque capacity

The Manila mayor also signed Executive Order No. 41 on Monday, which allowed more churchgoers to worship in churches, mosques, and chapels at 30 percent capacity from the current 10 percent.

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Increasing the church venue capacity aims “to promote not only the social and economic well-being of its constituents but also, more importantly, their spiritual well-being,” the order read.

“But with the premise that the leaders of the church will continue to practice simple protocols under the IATF rules, and one of those is people should wear masks, given a chance wear face shield, practice physical distancing,” he said.

Mayor Isko said he agreed to ease Manila’s restriction on the number of churchgoers because of a pending request, and when they “looked at our data, it seemed like we could grant the request.”

“Diniscuss ‘yan thoroughly last night and nag-agree naman yung Metro Manila mayors (We discussed it thoroughly last night and Metro Manila mayors agreed)… so it’s going to be an amendment again under GCQ,” he added.