Once Metro Manila shifts to modified enhanced community quarantine (MECQ) tomorrow, August 21, residents will no longer be required to carry around quarantine passes whenever they leave their houses.
“Hindi na natin i-implement po yung ating quarantine pass,” said Parañaque City mayor and Metro Manila Council chairperson Edwin Olivarez in a TeleRadyo interview.
Note that the omnibus guidelines for the implementation of quarantine classifications state that under MECQ, “the movement of all persons shall be limited to accessing goods and services from permitted establishments, for work in such establishments,” and for other allowed activities.
Olivarez also said that the unified curfew in the capital region will still be from 8pm to 4am under MECQ, but the MMC, which comprises 17 Metro Manila mayors, will be meeting to discuss if the curfew hours will be adjusted.
He added that during this ‘heightened’ MECQ period, which will run from August 21 to 31 in Metro Manila and Laguna, indoor and al fresco dine-in at restaurants is still banned, as are the operations of personal care services like salons, barbershops, and spas. Previous implementations of MECQ had permitted these businesses to operate. In-person religious gatherings are likewise still not allowed.
Finally, local government units have the final say on liquor bans within their jurisdiction. They may also enforce granular lockdowns in areas with clusters of active COVID-19 cases.
