FILE PHOTO: A policeman inspects passengers inside a jeepney passing through a checkpoint in Quezon City, August 6, 2021. REUTERS/Eloisa Lopez
MANILA, Philippines — The curfew hours in Metro Manila will relax starting Wednesday, Metro Manila Council (MMC) chairman and Parañaque City Mayor Edwin Olivarez disclosed on Tuesday.
“Starting Oct 13, 12 midnight to 4 am. Unified curfew in Metro Manila,” Olivarez told INQUIRER.net in a text message when asked if new curfew hours would be imposed.
Currently, curfew hours in Metro Manila is from 10 p.m. to 4 a.m.
Olivarez said that the adjustment is attributed to the decreasing COVID-19 cases and health care utilization rate.
The move also seeks to assist businesses and workers amid the gradual reopening of the economy, which was badly hit by the COVID-19 pandemic, he added.
“Declining cases and [health] care utilization. To help businesses and employees in slowly [opening] our economy,” Olivarez answered when asked for the reason on the curfew adjustment.
Meanwhile, when asked if the alert level in Metro Manila be downgraded, Olivarez said that the Inter-Agency Task Force (IATF) on Emerging Infectious Diseases will meet to discuss the matter.
“IATF will have a meeting on Thursday to assess alert level after Oct 15 [based] on [data],” Olivarez shared.
“Alert level will be [based] on [data] regarding reproduction number and health care utilization. Right now MMC has no recommendation but all LGUs (local government units) are ready to implement any alert level classification provided by IATF,” he went on.
On the other hand, Interior spokesperson Undersecretary Jonathan Malaya noted that adjusting curfew hours will only happen when Metro Manila downgrades to Alert Level 3.
“This will only come when we have shifted to Alert Level 3. In the meantime, the current curfew hours applies,” Malaya said in a text message.
Alert Level 4 is the second highest alert level which has high and/or increasing COVID-19 transmission and high total bed and intensive care unit (ICU) utilization rates.
Meanwhile, Alert Level 3 is raised if an area’s COVID-19 transmission is high or increasing and the total bed and ICU utilization rates are also increasing.
Metro Manila is placed under Alert Level 4 until October 15.