Liquor ban in Baguio, 8 Benguet towns to reduce gatherings during quarantine

BAGUIO CITY –– A liquor ban that has been in effect in Baguio during the initial lockdown will now be jointly enforced by eight of its neighboring towns in Benguet province as a measure against rising coronavirus disease (COVID-19) infections at the start of the week.

The anti-liquor drive will make drinking sessions a misdemeanor and discourage social gatherings while the city and the towns of La Trinidad, Tuba, Itogon, Sablan, Tublay, Buguias, Bokod, and Mankayan go through a modified general community quarantine, according to the city public information office on Thursday.

The local governments agreed to synchronize their quarantine operations during a June 15 meeting of the city’s Inter-Agency Task Force, due to concerns over a spike in Cordillera infections. As of June 16, the mountain region recorded 101 cases.

Mayor Benjamin Magalong also offered to help the towns test high-risk residents and improve their contact tracing processes when he met with La Trinidad Mayor Romeo Salda, Itogon Mayor Victorio Palangdan, Buguias Mayor Ruben Tindaan, Bokod Mayor Thomas Wales, Tuba Mayor Clarita Sal-ongan, Tublay Mayor Armando Lauro, Mankayan Mayor Thomas Frenzel Ayong and Sablan Vice Mayor Arthur Baldo.

La Trinidad, Itogon, Sablan, Tuba, and Tublay are part of an economic cooperation group forged with Baguio, called BLISTT (the acronym stands for the participating local governments) to deal with common problems spawned by unchecked urbanization and overpopulation.

LZB