THE city government is reimposing the 24-hour liquor ban to curb the spread of the coronavirus pandemic.
In Executive Order Number 59 that she signed on Thursday, Mayor Sara Z. Duterte said the liquor ban will start on November 2 until December 31.
“No liquor and any other alcoholic or intoxicating drinks shall be sold, served, or consumed in public 24 hours of the day,” stated the mayor’s order.
Section 2 of the same order stated: “The Vices Regulation Unit (VRU) and Barangay Council shall conduct vigorous surveillance of all restaurants, fastfood, sari-sari stores, and similar establishments and must immediately move for the closure of an establishment after a single violation is properly documented.”
It added: “It has been observed from patient interviews that selling, serving, and consumption of liquors and other similar intoxicating drinks encourage close contact gatherings thereby defeating the objective of the community quarantine.”
The city government earlier imposed the same ban on April 6 at the height of the implementation of the stricter quarantine protocols, but it eventually lifted the ban on September 30 as it wanted to restart the operations of business establishments.
In reimplementing the ban, the mayor noted the surge of the coronavirus cases since the implementation of the modified general community quarantine.
The order said there a need to control the spread of the cases because the Southern Philippine Medical Center is running out of beds for those who are infected by the virus.
The city government has implemented another executive order to reimplement the curfew between 7pm until 5am to regulate the movement of people as it has also pushed for alternative work arrangements both in private and public offices.
