Business establishments urged: Heed curfew or else …

Police Colonel Engelbert Soriano, Cebu City Police Office chief, warns owners of business establishments in the city to follow the 8 p.m. to 5 a.m. curfew.  | Alven Marie Timtim

CEBU CITY, Philippines — Business establishments that will not heed the 8 p.m. to 5 a.m. curfew imposed by the Cebu City government will face charges.

Police Colonel Engelbert Soriano, Cebu City Police Office (CCPO chief), gave this warning amid Mayor Edgardo Labella’s Executive Order No. 52 which placed the city under general community quarantine.

One of the provisions of EO No. 52 states that establishments adopt flexible schedules.

Read more: Cebu City puts up border control as it enters ‘general community quarantine’

With this, Soriano said during a press briefing on Monday, March 16, 2020, that business establishments that would continue to defy the order and operate their business beyond the 8 p.m. curfew would be facing charges.

Exempted businesses

According to Soriano only the business on food, pharmaceutical and Business Process Outsourcing (BPO) companies are exempted from the curfew.

“We can make arrests. Kaya pinapa identify ko yung manager ng business establishments,” said Soriano.

(We can make arrests. That is why I had the managers of business establishments identified.)

Soriano said that the violators might face charges against Republic Act 9271 or the Quarantine Law and the EO No. 52 of the city.

He assured that the police would continue to patrol areas in the city to make sure that the 8 p.m. curfew would be imposed.

Meanwhile, Lawyer Rey Gealon, Cebu City Legal Officer, said that the purpose of the new order was to avoid the spread of COVID-19 that might be possible in bigger gatherings.

“We don’t want to be like the other countries that suddenly had higher rate of death because they were complacent with the virus,” said Gealon.

He said it was important that the people limit themselves from going out in order to avoid the risk of infection.