Cinemas may reopen on March 1 after LGUs come up with guidelines - Palace
Metro Manila mayors have until the end of the month to come up with the guidelines for the reopening of cinemas by March 1, Malacanang said on Monday.
Presidential Spokesperson Harry Roque said consultations among the Metro Manila mayors and the Inter-Agency Task Force for the Management of Emerging Infectious Diseases will continue after the local chief executives have expressed reservation for the reopening of the cinemas amid the coronavirus pandemic.
"So, right now the status is, the implementation to open the cinemas, if it will push through, will be on March 1. There's a need to continue the consultations and the local government (units) need to come up with the guidelines before opening the cinemas," he said.
The IATF recently approved the reopening of the cinemas and othe leisure activities and the initial target was February 15.
However, some local chief executives, specifically those in Metro Manila, have raised concern over the decision of the task force.
In the "Laging Handa" public briefing on Monday, San Juan City Mayor Francis Zamora said Metro Manila mayors were concerned that the reopening of the cinemas might cause again a spike in the number of COVID-19 cases.
He said they were not consulted by the IATF when it decided to reopen the cinemas.
"Usually we are consulted regarding policies that are handed down by the IATF. But for this particular issue, we're not consulted," said Zamora, who personally expressed apprehension over the IATF decision.
"Personally, if possible I want to delay in the meantime the opening of the cinemas especially that the vaccine will be coming soon," he said.
The mayor acknowledged, however, that any decision of the Metro Manila Council was only purely recommendatory.
"At the end of the day, it will be the IATF and ultimately, of course, the President who will make the final decision," Zamora said.
Minguita Padilla of the University of the Philippines-College of Medicine, in the same televised press briefing, proposed that cinemas could still be opened, but not those in enclosed theaters.
"The LGUs may want outdoor cinemas. The outdoor cinemas, park, etc. are good," the lady doctor said.
Through this, she said the 300,000 people dependent in the sector as what was mentioned by Trade Secretary Ramon Lopez could recover their livelihood.
Padilla said doctors like her have reservations that there could be COVID-19 infection in an enclosed and air conditioned cinema even if there is physical distancing.
The IATF, through the recommendation of the economic team, has decided to reopen more sectors, such as cinemas, even in areas under general community quarantine like Metro Manila in order for the economy to recover faster. Celerina Monte/DMS
