As the Christmas season nears, Valenzuela City Mayor Rex Gatchalian announced that they will not be putting up Christmas trees and other decorations in the city's parks amid the coronavirus pandemic.
In a Facebook post Saturday night, Gatchalian explained that he does not want to encourage gatherings by setting up new attractions as long as the threat of the deadly disease is still there.
"This year we will not put them up. We have to make sure that we do not encourage convergence of people that will cause more covid transmission. Same with the food fiesta that we do annually," his post read.
The Valenzuela mayor said he wants the city government's efforts to focus on its COVID-19 response.
Doing away with decorations this year is "also in keeping with the times, as many people have fallen in difficult economic times" as a result of the health emergency, Gatchalian added, expressing hope that Christmas decorations would liven up the city in next year's Christmas.