TO ensure that no COVID protocols will be violated during the Sto. Nino Feast Day this weekend and that all the sacrifices made by the city residents and local government for the past ten months do not go to waste, Manila Mayor Isko Moreno directed all barangays and the police to strictly implement a liquor ban along with the ordinances banning drinking on the streeets and imposing a curfew.
The directive is contained in Executive Order No. 2, which saw the need to provide for stringent guidelines and regulations to be observed during the celebration of the annual feast day of the Sto.Nino in Tondo and Pandacan, usually marked by various forms of merrymaking like street parties and drinking sessions.
Moreno tasked barangay bureau chief Romeo Bagay to take all the necessary measures to ensure the effective and efficient implementation of the EO January 16 and 17, banning the sale of liquor and all kinds of alcoholic beverages and drinking on the streets which is penalized under Ordinance 5555 and the enforcement of curfew hours under Manila City Ordinance No. 8692, passed by the city council of Manila under the stewardship of Vice Mayor Honey Lacuna as its presiding officer.
“The activities during the fiesta celebration, if not regulated, can be surely an easy medium of COVID-19 spread and transmission thereby endangering the health, well-being and safety not only of residents in the said areas but also to their guests and visitors who will join them in the celebration,” Moreno noted in his order.
He added: “There is therefore a compelling need for the city to provide stringent guidelines and regulations not only to avoid the fear envisioned above but also in order not to put in vain all initiatives the city had undertaken the entire duration of this pandemic.”
In the same order, Moreno also prohibited street parties; stage shows like beauty pageants, dance and singing contests; stage plays; parades such as ‘Lakbayaw’; street games like basketball and volleyball, parlor games and other similar activities that will draw crowds.
Only the usual holding of masses at the Sto. Nino Parish in Tondo in connection with the fiesta have been allowed by the mayor.
The order was based on Section 16 of the Local Government Code of 1991 which empowers the city mayor to carry out such measures as are necessary to protect and promote the health and well-being of his constituents and to take other measures that are intended for their general welfare.
