IATF allows selling of lotto, digit games in MECQ areas

Lotto outlet. INQUIRER FILE PHOTO

MANILA, Philippines — The government’s COVID-19 task force has allowed lotto and other digit games to resume operations even in areas under modified enhanced community quarantine (MECQ).

In a statement Thursday, presidential spokesperson Harry Roque said the Inter-Agency Task Force (IATF) for the Management of Emerging Infectious Diseases allowed the “selling of Lotto, Keno, Scratch-It and Small Town Lottery Tickets nationwide” regardless of quarantine status.

The IATF, however, ordered the Philippine Charity Sweepstakes Office and its authorized agents to ensure strict compliance to health and safety protocols.

Operations of lotto and other numbers games were earlier barred in both enhanced community quarantine and MECQ areas.

Meanwhile, Roque said the IATF also allowed the Technical Education and Skills Development Authority (TESDA) to conduct in-person assessments for household service workers (HSWs) in areas under MECQ.

But these in-person assessments can only be held in TESDA’s training institutions and not private centers, he noted.

“In addition, in-person assessments shall only be limited for HSWs ready for deployment, meaning, they must have contracts and visas,” he added.

Further, the IATF allowed the resumption of Career Executive Service Written Examinations and operation of Career Executive Board’s assessment centers in MECQ areas as long as health and safety protocols are followed.

KGA