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[av_heading heading=’ALCOHOL CURFEW Peaceful city draws tourists, bizmen told ‘ tag=’h3′ style=’blockquote modern-quote’ size=” subheading_active=’subheading_below’ subheading_size=’15’ padding=’10’ color=” custom_font=” av-medium-font-size-title=” av-small-font-size-title=” av-mini-font-size-title=” av-medium-font-size=” av-small-font-size=” av-mini-font-size=” admin_preview_bg=”]
BY GLENDA SOLOGASTOA
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ILOILO City – Peace and order is a major tourist attraction, thus the Department of Tourism (DOT) Region 6 supports the mandatory closure of establishments dispensing alcoholic beverages by 2 a.m.
Restaurants, bars and nightclubs serving alcohol may be adversely affected by this new policy but not the local tourism industry, according to DOT director Helen Catalbas.
Iloilo Business Club executive director Lea Lara recently said other options to the 2 a.m. alcohol curfew should be explored because the city’s tourism industry may be adversely affected.
Restaurants and hotels – which almost always have bars – are among the local tourism industry’s key players.
But tourists, be they domestic or foreign, come here not to primarily binge-drink until dawn, said Catalbas.
“They’re here to attend conventions, visit tourist spots, unwind in beaches or inland resorts, visit friends and relatives, etc. Here for only a few days, they know they have very limited time so indi gid na sila paaga inom,” she said.
Or if these tourists want to have a drink, they could always order in the hotels and resorts where they are billeted or buy outside and bring the drinks to their rooms, she added.
The citywide 2 a.m. curfew for business establishments dispensing alcoholic drinks took effect Thursday last week. Its objective is to avert a breakdown of peace and order at night and early morning mostly caused by inebriated people.
“It is a welcome move. We are pushing for a peaceful and orderly tourist destination,” said Catalbas. “We have always been consistent in saying nga peace and order is a major tourist attraction in Iloilo City.”
Lara, however, said business establishments should be consulted.
“Their views must be heard because the proposals cover their clientele,” she stressed.
The alcohol curfew actually exempts the following:
* hotels/motels
* DOT-accredited resorts
* restaurants, provided they shall not sell nor serve nor dispense nor allow customers to drink within their premises from 2 a.m. until 8 a.m. on the same day, and
* convenience stores operating on a 24-hour basis, provided that such convenience stores may sell but shall not serve nor allow its customers to drink within its premises from 2 a.m. until 8 a.m. of the same day.
Mayor Jose Espinosa III said he was wary of a possible surge in nighttime brawls this holiday season and even next month when the city marks the 50th anniversary of the Dinagyang Festival.
He recalled Dec. 3’s fatal dawn shooting of a young man at Smallville Complex, a strip of bars, restaurants and hotels in Barangay San Rafael, Mandurriao district.
Catalbas said taxi drivers confirmed to her they have dealt with drunk passengers, mostly students (some even in their school uniforms), during the wee hours.
One driver said “nag-throw up ang pasahero n’ya,” according to Catalbas, and he had a hard time getting rid of the foul smell in his taxi.
DOT Region 6 considers taxis and their drivers as tourism frontliners and has a training program for them./PN
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