Plaza Independencia |CDND Photo/Gerard Vincent Francisco
CEBU CITY, Philippines — Cebu City Acting Mayor Michael Rama will no longer allow any convergence or gatherings in the city’s public parks.
This includes Fort San Pedro, Plaza Independencia, Plaza Sugbo, and the Fuente Osmeña Circle where most families go during the weekends or weekday afternoons.
Rama said that there is a need to limit the number of people going to these places because of the obvious rise of the COVID-19 cases in the city.
“All the areas, the Fort San Pedro, Plaza Independencia, Fuente, there should be no convergence there,” said the acting mayor.
He said there is no need to wait for an executive order but will issue one if he has to.
The acting mayor has instructed the Cebu City Police Office (CCPO) and the agencies handling the public parks to monitor these areas at all times to prevent people from converging.
The city government has been mulling the closure of these public parks after families flocked the Plaza Independencia on the last weekend of July 2021, drawing concerns amid the rise of COVID-19 cases.
Rama reminds the public that his Executive Order (EO) issued in behalf of on-leave Mayor Edgardo Labella has only one purpose: to keep the public at home.
He warned that the city cannot afford another lockdown, but a lockdown will be imminent if the health care sector continues to be overwhelmed.
“Prepare to lockdown. Asa magsugod ang lockdown? Sa balay. It is a family responsibility. I wish barangay captains that they will do likewise,” said Rama.
The first three days of the implementation of the new EO, Rama said they are still deploying enforcers to maintain the order in establishments and ensure the curfew be implemented properly.
He is hoping for better compliance from the public now because the city is “not in good form” as of now with cases rising and hospitals barely managing. /rcg