Christmas parties in 50 percent venue capacity are now allowed in Alert Level 2 areas as long as health standards are observed, the Department of the Interior and Local Government (DILG) confirmed Friday, Dec. 3.
DILG spokesperson Undersecretary Jonathan Malaya warned that the business permits of non-complying establishments hosting the parties will be suspended with their safety seals also set to be revoked.
“In Alert Level 2 areas, it is allowed at 50 percent venue capacity and additional 10 percent if the venue has a safety seal, minimum public health standards such as wearing of face mask, social distancing, should be strictly observed, too,’’ Malaya said in the Laging Handa briefing.
The entire country was placed under Alert Level 2 on Friday due to the continuous decrease in coronavirus disease (COVID-19) cases. The province of Apayao was the last to deescalate from Alert Level 3 to Alert Level 2.
Meanwhile, the DILG will also investigate the reported conduct of rallies by some political bets in the 2022 national elections.
“Kailangan po tingnan natin kung ano ba nangyari diyan sa lugar na iyan. Posibleng hindi naman iyan political rally (We need to look into what happened in that areas. It is possible that it was not really a political rally). So we will take the report on a case to case basis, conduct the necessary investigation),’’ Malaya noted.
But just the same, Malaya called on the public and all the political parties to wait for the official campaign period next year before embarking on such exercises.