MANILA, Philippines (Updated 5:25 p.m.) — The Quezon City local government has shut down a bar in the city after a video showing partygoers clubbing and drinking without masks and social distancing went viral over the weekend.
This was confirmed by City Legal Officer Orlando Nino Casimiro in a text message to Philstar.com.
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"[Ciso's] Gastro Bar has been temporarily closed by QC Government because of reported violations of [Inter-Agency Task Force] health protocols and LGU guidelines," he said.
READ: QCPD arrests 73 over health violations after raids on restobars
Casimiro said that the bar's management, workers, and customers that night face violations of the Mandatory Reporting of Notifiable Diseases and Health Events of Public Health Concern Act. The same law has been used to arrest protesters, activists and feeding program volunteers.
"It is in events like these that there is the most risk of the spread of COVID-19, specifically the Delta variant so the city will seek maximum penalties under RA 11332 and applicable City Ordinances," he said.
"This is in addition to the administrative penalties such as permanent closure after proper investigation and observance of due process."
QC says it "will seek maximum penalties...in addition to the administrative penalties such as permanent closure." The complaint stemmed from a viral video showing partygoers without masks and not observing social distancing @PhilstarNews
— Franco Luna (@francoIuna) July 12, 2021
Video from Quezon City LGU pic.twitter.com/8tVKWRJUjY
Also on Monday, the QC Business Permits and Licensing Department said it also issued a temporary closure order on G-Side Bar in Tomas Morato after similar photos and videos surfaced on various social media sites where guests were seen partying.
Aside from violating the latest GCQ guidelines, the establishments also violated the Public Safety Hours, or curfew, and minimum health protocols.
"The patrons of these bars even had the audacity to post in social media their wanton violation of health and safety protocols, oblivious to the fact that there are more transmissible variants now and public safety remains at risk," Mayor Joy Belmonte said.
"We support economic recovery and job creation but these should not be at the expense of public health. We will not hesitate to close down establishments if and when we find out these businesses are venues of superspreader events," added Margie Santos, BPLD Head.
QCPD inspecting city bars
The Quezon City Police District through a text message from its public information office added Monday that it was still verifying the identity of the establishment caught on video.
On Sunday afternoon, the district said that its recent string of operations against restobars in the city was "in compliance with the guidance and directives" of Quezon City Mayor Joy Belmonte "to verify if they are violating IATF protocols and other applicable laws."
"The QCPD has been receiving numerous complaints from concerned citizens that Resto bars in Quezon City have been operating," Police Brig. Gen. Antonio Yarra, QCPD director, said in a statement.
Yarra added that random visits, inspections, and monitoring of bars and establishments in the city will "be continuously implemented" moving forward.
To date, health authorities have tallied 1.46 million coronavirus infections in the country, 49,968 of whom are still classified as active cases.
According to authorities, 1,427 active cases remain out of the 103,652 recorded cases in Quezon City, the biggest city in the Philippines.
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This is a developing story. Check back for updates.
Disclosure: Quezon City Mayor Joy Belmonte is a shareholder of Philstar Global Corp., which operates digital news outlet Philstar.com. This article was produced following editorial guidelines.