MAYOR Inday Sara reminded Davaoenos that the lifting of liquor ban is not a license for them to go out and party. It does not mean that one can go back to the old habit and drink to get drunk as if there’s no tomorrow. “Drink moderately.” She hits the nail where it should be.
Marami kasi sa atin ang lasenggo na kahit hindi na kaya, alsa pa rin!
She also said that: “kung ikaw moinom, it is best na ang kainuman mo is kauban nimo sa balay or online. But never invite other people dinha sa sulod inyong balay karon panahon sa pandemya.”
I avoided drinking beer and other intoxicating drinks the last 7 months. COVID-19 continues to ravish the world’s health as it strikes anywhere and anytime as an invisible enemy. Her advice to drink at home instead of going to other places is worth pondering. In the house you can drink with no one stopping you.
If I break my self-imposed restriction from drinking, especially in this season of merriment, I can’t promise the Mayor that I can do it at home as there are only two of us in the house. Fortunately, Jin Lorenz never tries alcoholic drinks. His other four siblings are also not used to drinking or smoking. Lahat ng anak ko walang bisyo. I thank God for this (hindi sila nagmana sa akin) and to our unrelenting guidance during our children’s growing up years with me and my late wife, Virgie.
So, this leaves me to drink outside as I used to with friends as you can only enjoy the vice when the group is around, sometimes talking about anything under the spirit of alcohol.
As I said, drinking is nothing if you’re not with the usual crowd and just rely on gadgets.
The serving of alcoholic beverages is permitted in restaurants and fast food businesses but will only be allowed a maximum of two servings. The rule also applies to videoke bars.
“Dili sila (videoke) puede molabaw sa restaurants and fast foods because there is a regulation sa serving. Otherwise, if you’re allowed to serve unlimited drinks sa imohang lugar ma-defeat ang purpose kung ngano ge-regulate sa DTI ang serving sa restaurants and fast food,” the Mayor said.
This comes to mind my unforgettable experience almost every night in and out of this music bar years ago. Pity the Guest Relations Officers (better known as GROs) who will be more affected by the new order.
In most videoke bars, GROs are not regular employees of the establishment but given a nightly meager remuneration for their transportations not exceeding P100. That was in the early 90s when this writer, together with a millionaire friend painted the stretch of the city’s entertainment popular hubs almost every other night.
That’s why the DTI’s Section 4 of Memorandum Circular No. 20-44 on limited alcohol drink serving is counter- productive to these people in the entertainment world.
There should be an exemption to the rule, I suggest.
Meanwhile, the recently coined “one-strike-policy” the city government wants to enforce on establishments caught violating the restrictions on serving and selling will not succeed unless the law enforcers have discipline while performing their duties.
Before anything else, that unforgettable nightlife we had with the boys is now over and just archived in my memorabilia which I shared to my friends and guests in a video presentation during my Diamond Year celebration at Mandaya Hotel of our good friend-businessman, Glen Escandor. (Kamusta Glen, matagal-tagal na rin tayo hindi nagkikita!-LDT)
Stay safe.
