Navotas will continue its 24-hour curfew for minors amid the decision of the Inter-Agency Task Force for the Management of Emerging Infectious Diseases to allow persons aged 15-65 to leave their homes.
“We want our children to stay safe. This is precisely why we kept them from going to school and encouraged them to attend distance learning classes instead,” said Mayor Tobias Tiangco.
“Allowing those between 15 to 18 years old to go out is absurd. It defeats the purpose of distance learning and will further distract them from their studies. We cannot afford to be wishy-washy with our rules. Lives are at stake,” he added.
Tiangco said City Ordinance No. 2020-33 requires residents below 18 years old to stay home all the time while Navotas is under community quarantine or in any form of lockdown required by the national or local government.
“We are still under general community quarantine. As long as a quarantine is in place, we will continue to uphold our 24-hour curfew to keep young Navoteños safe from COVID-19,” he said.
Meanwhile, Tiangco said senior citizens are already allowed to go out if they are APORs or have to buy essentials.
“Be they 60 or 65, our seniors are already allowed to go out if needed be. But for the sake of their safety and well-being, we highly encourage them to stay home,” he said.
“While it is true that our COVID-19 curve is flattening, cases can skyrocket any time, especially if we loosen up our policies too soon. We should learn from other countries that are now suffering from a resurgence of cases,” he added.
Tiangco underscored that the government needs to continue strict enforcement of rules to maximize the gains it has achieved in the fight against COVID-19.
“Our curve is flattening. We want to make sure that this is sustained, that when we loosen up our policies, everyone will remain safe and we will not have to go back to stricter measures. We need to be slow but sure,” he said.