MANILA, Philippines — The Quezon City local government issued a temporary closure order on Saturday, July 17, on three more bars as it ramps up its random inspection of business establishments.
In a statement sent to reporters Sunday, the Quezon City Business Permits and Licensing Department disclosed that one establishment is Guilly’s Island Restaurant and Bar in Tomas Morato that was found operating with an expired business permit. 29 employees and 10 customers were issued ordinance violation receipts.
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The BPLD said it also ordered the temporary closure of Karma Lounge in Tomas Morato for violation of health protocols and quarantine guidelines and operating with an expired mayor’s permit while 30 of its employees did not have occupational permits.
Another establishment, the Batcave Music Bar along Visayas Avenue, was also caught violating the city's quarantine guidelines and health protocols with three of its employees unable to produce an occupational permit.
The city’s enforcement unit, Task Force Disiplina, and the Quezon City Police District discovered that the bars were also seen operating beyond public safety hours.
Customers and employees were also caught violating health and safety protocols, as well as local and national quarantine guidelines.
LOOK: The QC Business Permits and Licensing Department also issued a temporary closure order on the G-Side Bar in Tomas Morato after similar photos and videos surfaced on social media showing guests partying. @PhilstarNews
— Franco Luna (@francoIuna) July 12, 2021
Photos by QC PIO pic.twitter.com/iZURXK2Jkq
The BPLD also disclosed that it lifted the temporary closure order issued to En Route Distillery Bar in Tomas Morato after the bar reportedly complied with the conditions and protocols, following its closure on July 12 for violation of safety standards and existing national and local quarantine guidelines.
“We were quick to close down violators, but we also support their reopening as soon as we are assured that they are complying with ordinances, laws and guidelines,” BPLD head Margie Santos said.
According to the OCTA Research Group, the city’s positivity rate, which was previously at 6% since the week of June 22-28 has now reached the rate set by the World Health Organization at which infections are less likely to occur, and is even lower than the prevailing NCR rate of 6%.
For the week of July 4-10, the city conducted 4181 PCR tests per day while the contact tracing rate or the number of contacts traced per positive patient is now at 28.3.
To date, health authorities have recorded 1.5 million coronavirus infections in the Philippines, 47,257 of whom remain classified as active cases.
“We can not let our guard down especially with the revelation of health experts that community transmission of the Delta variant has been detected," Belmonte said.
"Vigilance and the support of QCitizens in reporting erring establishments would prevent superspreader events and the widespread transmission of Covid-19."
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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.