Taguig City to designate common areas as ‘safe zones’ during MECQ

Taguig Mayor Lino Cayetano (center) and Taguig Rep. Lani Cayetano (left) lead the launching of the drive-thru coronavirus testing services in a testing facility set up in Bonifacio Global City in Barangay Fort Bonifacio. Photo from Taguig LGU Facebook page

MANILA, Philippines — The local government of Taguig said it will declare common areas as safe spaces for everyone including senior citizens and children, wherein it will allow “normalcy” but will follow health protocols for the duration of the modified enhanced community quarantine.

“We designed this policy to strike a balance between people’s need for a sense of normalcy and the health and safety policies to avert COVID-19 infections, including protocols on social distancing and wearing of face masks,” Mayor Lino Cayetano said in a statement on Tuesday.

Community spaces that can apply as safe zones are open spaces, gardens, multipurpose courts, walkways, and similar places in villages and residential areas in Taguig. Leisure facilities such as pools, gyms, and playgrounds, however, must still be closed.

Common areas can apply as safe zones through taguiginfo.com/safe city. They are required to undergo inspection and clearance by the Safe City Task Force or its representatives.

The safe zones must also have closed-circuit television cameras so that “city government may pull footage if the need arises.”

Safe zones will be allowed to open from 5 a.m. to 8 p.m. and will be regulated by a barangay official, homeowner’s association president, property manager, or administrator, or safe zone administrator.

Social distancing measures, wearing face masks and prohibition of mass gathering must be implemented at the safe zone.

The administrator of a safe zone must also conduct body temperature checks at the entrance to refer those with COVID-19 symptoms to health centers.

A logbook and registration system that requires a visitor’s name, age, address, and time of entry and exit must be placed at the entrance for contact tracing.

Child visitors aged 12 and below must be accompanied by an adult when entering the safe spaces. Meanwhile, safe zones must provide a schedule for senior citizens for them to use these establishments.

Residents may also be allowed walking of pets, biking, jogging, or running but mingling among neighbors is not allowed in safe zones.

Safe zones can allow physical exercises provided that a distance of at least five meters between individuals should be in place. But workout sessions and group exercises must be disallowed.

JPV