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Manila Bulletin devider Philippines devider National devider DTI exec explains what real alfresco dining is

DTI exec explains what real alfresco dining is

Published Mar 23, 2021 04:44 pm

Eating on a table set up outside a restaurant that's located inside a mall doesn't count as "alfresco" dining.

(Unsplash)

Department of Trade and Industry (DTI) Usec. Ruth Castelo made this clarification during a virtual press briefing Tuesday, March 23, wherein she said that such dining set up is not allowed under the new guidelines against the coronavirus disease (COVID-19).

Castelo was reacting to a report saying that a fastfood restaurant has set up dining tables outside the store but is still within the mall’s premises.

"The outdoor dining that we allow is yung may natural air, outside the enclosed area. If it is still within the mall that is enclosed, it is not considered outdoor dining. Yung tunay na alfresco walang pinto, walang bintana, yung open siya talaga (Real alfresco dining has no door, no windows, it’s just in an open area),” she explained.

Under the Resolution 104 of the Inter-Agency Task Force on the management of Emerging Infectious Diseases (IATF), dine-in services of restaurants and fast-food chains are prohibited while alfresco dining and take-out services are allowed.

Castelo appealed to the public to bear with the latest policy, which will be implemented from March 22 to April 4.

“If our COVID cases would not scale down, we do not know if they (IATF) will extend it or add more restrictions, we do not know o it's a warning to everybody both businesses and consumers to (sic) comply with all health protocols that we are establishing right now,” the undersecretary further said. 

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