THE Armed Forces of the Philippines (AFP) on Wednesday, October 21, 2020, said all its units will not hold Christmas parties in line with the ban on mass gatherings to prevent transmission of the virus that causes coronavirus disease 2019 (Covid-19).
Shortly before AFP Chief of Staff Gilbert Gapay gave the order to issue a directive to all units, Philippine National Police (PNP) Chief Camilo Cascolan also said he was planning to prohibit parties and use the funds intended for these to augment PNP funds for assistance to Covid-19 patients among its personnel.
Mass gatherings, including Christmas parties, are not allowed in areas under general community quarantine (GCQ) and higher, Department of the Interior and Local Government (DILG) Secretary Eduardo Año said.
In a statement, Gapay ordered all unit commanders and heads of all AFP offices to “defer Christmas parties and similar celebrations as an austerity measure and as a gesture of sensitivity to our countrymen.”
“Fellow Filipinos here and abroad have been suffering. And this is the least we can do to commiserate with the people we have sworn to secure and serve especially in this time of crisis,” the AFP chief said.
He said the amount that would be spent for Christmas parties will be added to the military’s funds to address Covid-19 requirements of their personnel, he added.
Earlier Wednesday, Cascolan said he was considering the same policy about having no Christmas parties.
“They (PNP personnel) will understand that. Instead of using the funds for our Christmas party, we will be giving it out for Covid patients or the Covid fund," he said.
For his part, Año said that since Metro Manila mayors want to remain under GCQ until the end of the year and mass gatherings are prohibited under GCQ, there should be no Christmas parties in the capital region and in other areas under GCQ.
“Yes ang under GCQ, bawal pa ang mga parties so ang ating NCR nagkasundo ‘yung ating mga mayors na hanggang GCQ muna tayo at magluluwag lang para makatulong sa ekonomiya pero hindi muna mag modified GCQ (MGCQ),” he said.
(Parties are prohibited in areas under GCQ. Our mayors in NCR have agreed to retain GCQ until the end of the year. Restrictions will be eased only in support of efforts to restart the economy.)
“Kapag bigla ka nag shift diyan automatic lahat ng activities 50 percent capacity pati ‘yung mga get together diyan sigurado gagawin nila diyan. Mahirap naman, sayang ‘yung gains natin for the past seven months kung magkaroon tayo ng surge ulit,” he added.
(If we shift to MGCQ, all activities would be allowed at 50 percent capacity so people would be holding mass gatherings. Another surge in infections would erase the gains we have achieved in the past seven months.)
Metro Manila mayors earlier recommended to the Inter-Agency Task Force (IATF) for the Management of Emerging Infectious Disease to extend the GCQ in their areas until end-December 2020.
They, however, vowed to gradually ease quarantine restrictions to allow business establishments to slowly resume operations.
Curfew hours in Metro Manila have also been shortened to four hours, from 12 midnight to 4 a.m.
But only those 18 to 65 years old would be allowed to go out of their homes instead of the 15 to 65 age range approved by the IATF.
“’Yung mga below 18 hanggang 15 mga three million din yan na kabataan kaya dapat medyo ingat pa rin muna dahil three digits pa rin ‘yung daily cases dito sa Metro Manila,” Año said.
(There are around three million youth between 15 and 18. We must continue to exercise caution because there are still hundreds of new cases of infection daily in Metro Manila.) (Third Anne Peralta-Malonzo/SunStar Philippines)