MANILA, Philippines — Interior Secretary Eduardo Año warned subdivisions on Wednesday against charging a fee for delivery services during the modified enhanced community quarantine (MECQ).
“That is not allowed if it’s only delivery,” Año said in a text message answering a question asked about the practice.
Earlier, a concerned citizen informed INQUIRER.net that the BF Resort Village Homeowners Association in Las Piñas was charging a gate fee of 25 for each delivery.
“During ECQ/MECQ madami nawalan jobs so sana wag na ibawas sa riders ang fee and wag na addtl gastos sa residents,” he said in a Facebook post.
[During the ECQ/MECQ a lot of people are losing jobs. So we hope that they will not reduce charges for riders and will not give additional charges for residents.]
He said the entrance fees for deliveries began in 2019 but was waived during the enhanced community quarantine (ECQ). It was imposed again starting May 18, two days after the MECQ took effect.
He said food delivery services were excluded from the gate fees, along with those delivering basic items such as medicine, disinfectant alcohol and face masks.
He said residents were also concerned for the safety of riders who fall in line despite strict observance of physical distancing.
Residents were also questioning validity of gate fees as there were no original receipts (OR) given for riders.
“Validity of gate fee transaction — no OR is given just a stub na madalas pinapabalik pa sa gate [that is being asked to return to the gate],” he said.
Here are some screenshots of the complaints from residents:
Contributed photo
INQUIRER.net sought a response from the homeowners’ group., But the group has yet to reply as of this writing.