Paranaque City Mayor Edwin Olivarez, chairman of the Metro Manila Council (MMC), announced that unified curfew hours -- from 12 midnight to 4 a.m. -- will be imposed in the National Capital Region (NCR) starting Oct. 13.
Olivarez, in a phone interview, said that all Metro Manila mayors agreed to shorten curfew hours in the NCR since the number of COVID-19 cases has gone down since the implementation of Alert Level 4.
He, however, said that the imposition of the new alert level on Oct. 15 depends on the decision of the Inter Agency Task Force (IATF).
Olivarez said the reproduction rate in the NCR has improved since the implementation of Alert Level 4 and imposition of granular lockdowns in areas with high number of COVID-19 cases.
He said hospital utilization rate in the ICU and COVID-19 wards were among the factors considered in adjusting the curfew hours in the region.