Several residents in Manila Engineering Compound on Bonifacio Drive in Port Area, Manila were seen playing basketball on Tuesday, Jan.18, despite the Alert Level 3 restriction on contact sports.
Witnesses raised complaints after seeing several adult men and even children playing basketball, not practicing social distancing, and not wearing face masks in the court.
Under Alert Level 3, contact sports are not allowed, according to the Inter-Agency Task Force.
GMA news called the attention of Manila City Councilor Darwin Sia regarding the incident.
"Mali, kasi merong IATF rules tayo na dapat bawal . Ang pagkakamali ko lang din po ay ako po ay nakatutok sa pagtulong sa vaccination, hindi ko na-monitor ang aking lugar. (It’s wrong because IATF rules dictate that contact sports are prohibited . It’s my mistake because I didn’t monitor the area as I was focused on assisting in vaccination,” said Sia who oversees the Andres Bonifacio area in Manila.
According to Sia, the basketball court in question is being rented out to players for P200 an hour, but it also serves as a parking spot and rest area for E-trike drivers.