TWICE have I been refused entry by McDonald's Dau (beside Southstar Drug formerly Manson Drug) and Jolibee Dau (beside China Bank), MacArthur Highway. Their reason: I am a senior citizen and that the local government of Mabalacat City forbids seniors (and minors) from entering their establishments.

Now, the Department of Interior and Local Government (DILG), in a memorandum dated August 17, 2020 and signed by Secretary Eduardo Ano, permits older persons to "go out of their residences and enter commercial establishments for work and essential activities under all community quarantine levels.”

The elders should be accorded full respect, the memorandum circular stressed.

Over at SM Malls, the guards there are courteous, due to the prodding of management like senior asst. vice president Junias Eusebio, ROMs Andrea Madlangbayan and Bong Garcia and the mall managers who are advised to be more customer-friendly.

All local chief executives were also enjoined to ensure respect for the elders' freedom of movement.

There should also be no curfew for older persons in all quarantine levels.

The DILG also advised law enforcers, including the Philippine National Police, to ensure that this freedom of movement is respected and properly implemented by all government personnel.

It put to task the Office for Senior Citizens Affairs or OSCA to urge local officials to respect and protect the rights of older persons.

Further, the DILG suggested that the OSCA should be represented in all meetings and activities pertaining to logistics and resources in the local Covid-19 task force.

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Inside the Clark Freeport Zone, a pragmatic, holistic and implementable scheme had been hatched by the Clark Development Corporation headed by its President and Chief Executive Officer (CEO) Noel F. Manankil, Westchester Realty and Development Corporation, which handles development work at Xevera Mabalacat City and executives of Home Development Mutual Fund or Pag-Ibig.

The president and CEO looks at the scheme as a solution to the housing requirements of workers of the manufacturing sector inside the Freeport Zone and guarantees their continued presence near their places of work thus assuring continuity of work.

Clark reportedly has more than 1,200 locators with more than 80,000 workers mostly from the manufacturing firms inside the Zone.