ILOILO City – The limitation in the sale and consumption of liquor until 12 midnight in this southern city has been lifted.
Yesterday, Mayor Jerry P. Treňas signed Executive Order (EO) No. 49-B amending his previous EO that regulated the public sale and consumption of alcoholic beverages until 12 midnight only due to the prevalence of people loitering and bar fighting.
Under the amended EO, the sale and consumption in public of any form of liquor is now again allowed from 8 a.m. until 2a.m., subject to compliance with the minimum health protocols such as adequate physical distancing and existing restrictions as imposed by local ordinances such as Liquor Ban for Minors.
In lifting the limitation, the city mayor cited a conference with the Iloilo Bar Owners Association (IBOA) with the city’s Task Force on Moral and Values Formation (TFMVF) on Dec. 14 wherein the former committed through an undertaking to implement measures and by upscaling their security plan and personnel to obviate incidents which transgress maintenance of peace and order in the city.
“Whereas, while still adapting to radical changes of COVID-19 transmission, it cannot be overemphasized that public awareness, vigilance, cooperation, and full adherence to public health protocols remain vital in community-wide responses to effectively curb down the unprecedented surge in our cases, including the regulation on dispensation of liquor,” read part of the EO.
Under the EO, compliance officers and other authorized personnel deployed by the Iloilo City government shall conduct regular random inspections to ensure proper compliance of business establishments operating within the city.
Meanwhile, owners and operators and/or managers of bars or any place or establishment whose principal business is the sale of alcoholic beverages or liquors operating in the city, members of IBOA and/or their representatives are mandated to strictly comply, duly observe and perform each term and obligation and condition contained in the submitted undertaking dated Dec. 15, 2022.
Failure to meet such conditions shall be sufficient ground for appropriate sanctions/penalties.
Treñas’ new EO takes effect starting 12:01 a.m. of Dec. 17, 2022./PN
