Navotas shortens curfew

The city government of Navotas has lifted its liquor ban and shortened its curfew hours for adults starting 1 February 2021.

Mayor Toby Tiangco signed City Ordinance No. 2021-07, removing the prohibition on the purchase and sale of liquor and alcoholic beverages within Navotas.

He also approved City Ordinance No. 2021-09 that changed the city's curfew hours from 8 p.m.-5 a.m. to 10 p.m.-5 a.m.

"As promised, we are relaxing some of our policies because our COVID cases remained manageable even after the holidays. Despite an increase, the number of new cases did not shoot up as expected," Tiangco explained.

The mayor, however, reminded Navoteños that drinking in public continues to be prohibited and minors are still under the city's 24-hour curfew.

"Drinking in public remains unlawful as stated in Municipal Ordinance No. 2002-06. Those who will violate this rule will be meted out with the appropriate penalty," Tiangco said.

"Residents, who are under 18 years old, also need to stay home all the time, except if they have to go out for health or medical reasons. This is our way of keeping them safe from contracting the deadly disease," he added.

"We are careful in loosening up our policies so as to avoid any spike in cases. We do not want to go back to stricter quarantine measures. We intend to have gradual but continuous easing of rules based on data of cases," he further said.

Earlier, the city government allowed markets and groceries to open on Sundays provided they conduct general cleaning and disinfection weekly and follow other safety protocols.

"Our city's COVID situation is getting better that is why we can afford to relax some of our policies. We are grateful for the support and cooperation of everyone, especially our frontliners. As we prepare for our vaccination rollout, we call on each and every Navoteño to remain careful and to follow our safety measures," Tiangco said.

He also encouraged residents and workers in the city, aged 18 and above, to register for the city's COVID-19 vaccination program. Willing participants may log on to https://covax.navotas.gov.ph/ or visit their barangays to help them register.