Metro Manila mayors will soon release a list of places in their respective jurisdictions that may be visited by children as young as five years old, Metropolitan Manila Development Authority (MMDA) Chairman Benhur Abalos said Thursday, July 15.
Abalos said this move is in line with a three-page resolution that was unanimously approved by the members of the Metro Manila Council (MMC) on Wednesday night.
"Hinikayat ang lahat ng alkalde para makapagbigay na ng listahan sa publiko... they would see kung saan sila pwedeng magpunta all over Metro Manila (The mayors were enjoined to provide a lost to the public...so that they would know the places that they can go to all over Metro Manila)," Abalos said during Thursday's Laging Handa virtual press briefing.
"These lists ilalabas po. Hindi lang po LGU , tutulong po ang MMDA po rito (These lists will be released. The MMDA will help the LGU in this)," he said.
A copy of the particular document, MMC Resolution No. 21-11 Series of 2021, was later sent to reporters.
Comprised of the 17 Metro Manila mayors, the MMC serves as the policy-making body of the MMDA.
Earlier this week, the Inter-Agency Task Force (IATF) for the Management of Emerging Infectious Diseases said it will finally allow children with a minimum age of five to go outdoors and visit open-air areas, particularly parks.
Abalos said the MMC resolution provides the guidelines for this development amid the ongoing coronavirus disease (COVID-19) pandemic.
He said the mayors came up with a definition of a "park" after finding the IATF definition somewhat limiting in the context of Metro Manila.
"Yung definition ng parks sa IATF ay walang walls, walang bubong. Parang Luneta Park, etc. (The IATF definition says parks neither have walls nor roofs. Like Luneta Park, etc.) "Since ang kalakhang Maynila ay hindi naman ganun kadami ang mga parks katulad ng Luneta, katulad ng Intramuros, mas minabuti natin na i-define na ang 'park' ay anything na walang bubong; al fresco, ibig sabihin ay tuloy-tuloy ang hangin, maski may walls (Since Metro Manila doesn't have that many parks like Luneta or Intramuros, they just decided to define 'park' as anything without roofs; al fresco, meaning it's open air, even if it has walls)," Abalos said.
He noted that the features outside of certain shopping malls fit this definition.
"Ibig sabihin nito ay outside the malls kamukha po sa nakikita natin sa Trinoma, BGC . Yan po ay allowed under this as defined by the MMC (These mean places outside the mall like what we see in Trinoma and BGC. That is allowed under this as defined by the MMC)."
The resolution also puts great importance on the observance of the 50 percent maximum capacity rule and social distancing when it comes to bringing children to these places. Abalos said that the kids must always be accompanied by an adult.
The resolution also provides for the deployment of marshals in privately-owned outdoor areas or parks to ensure compliance with the minimum public health standards and protocols.