BY DOMINIQUE GABRIEL G. BAÑAGA
BACOLOD City – The city government has lifted the city-wide 12 midnight-to-4 a.m. curfew nearly two years after it was imposed as part of efforts to combat the spread of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19).
“In line with its recovery plan, the city finds it imperative that the movement of people during the new normal should be eased and be made less constricted,” according to Mayor Evelio Leonardia in Executive Order (EO) No. 25.
The curfew scrapping is seen to further revitalize business activities and promote consumer spending.
EO 25, however, does not cover the existing City Ordinance No. 561 imposing curfew on minors from 10 p.m. to 4 a.m.
Bacolod City is one of the 39 local government units (LGUs) de-escalated to Alert Level 1 by the national Inter-Agency Task Force (IATF) in March 2022.
The IATF said Bacolod’s inclusion was primarily due to its high vaccination rate and consistent decline in its COVID-19 infections – indicators that it was managing the pandemic well.
“All these accomplishments were primarily because of the cooperation of all stakeholders, the Bacolodnons from all walks,” said Leonardia.
If we were in school, Leonardia continued, Bacolod would have been the “class valedictorian”.
Meanwhile, the Negros Occidental provincial government will lift the province-wide curfew on June 1.
Gov. Eugenio Jose Lacson said the lifting was agreed upon by the mayors that cited the clamor of the business sector for the lifting./PN