Although children aged as young as five years old have been allowed by the Inter-Agency Task Force (IATF) to go outdoors, they will still not be allowed inside shopping malls and other enclosed spaces.
Metropolitan Manila Development Authority (MMDA) Chairman Benhur Abalos gave this clarification Monday, July 12 even as he said that the Metro Manila mayors would come up with a list of guidelines soon in connection with the easing of rules on children going outdoors.
"As it is right now, kami po ang mga alkalde po, umaayon sa sinabi ng IATF. Pero maglalabas pa po kami ng guidelines at ito po'y para sa atin din pong lahat (The mayors agree with what the IATF said. But we will come up with guidelines for the benefit of everyone)," Abalos said in an interview over DZMM.
He underscored that the IATF has allowed children aged five and up to go outdoors and to places that are open-air or al fresco.
"Ang sinasabi nila ay mga parks, beaches, trail hikes, etc. Mga al fresco. Ibig sabihin, kga hangin na sariwa, hindi yung hangin sa loob ng mall ha. Ito yung hangin sa labas. Talagang sariwa (What they're referring to are parks, beaches, trail hikes, etc. These are al fresco areas. Meaning, the air is fresh, not the type of air that is inside malls. This is the air outside. It is really fresh)," he said.
"Pero inuulit ko, siguro lalagyan pa namin ito ng karagdagang regulasyon para sa mga alkalde. For one, Ito'y mga bata, five years old, seven or eight, baka yung iba 10. Dapat siguro accompanied sila by adults. Hindi po pwedeng sila sila lang nandun, yung mga bata, nagtatakbuhan sa parke (But I repeat, the mayors will likely add some regulations to this. For one, this will be for children aged five and above. They should be accompanied by adult. We can't have them running around in the park on their own)," Abalos said.
The MMDA chief said they would come up with the guidelines within two days.
The 17 mayors in Metro Manila comprise the Metro Manila Council (MMC), which regularly conducts meetings with Abalos. The MMC is the policy-making body of the MMDA.
Abalos said the new rule on the movement of children under the persisting coronavirus disease (COVID-19) pandemic was reached by the IATF upon consulting with pediatricians and epidemiologists.
"Minabuti ng IATF after weighing both dahil alam niyo ang mga bata nakakulong halos dalawang taon na. For their social, physical, and mental well-being, binalanse po talaga (The IATF decided on this because kids have been under stay-at-home orders for almost two years now. This is to balance their social, physical, and mental well-being).
"Kaya sinabi ng mga eksperto kung ito naman ay open-air, yung mga virus nililipad naman yan eh. I mean yung transmission eh talagang mas least kang mahahawa ika nga lalo na kung may mask ka at of course yung social distancing (Experts said that the virus will fly around anyway of it's an open-air location. I mean, it's the least chance of infection especially if you're wearing masks and if you practice social distancing)," Abalos said.