This Week in Metro Manila (May 2 to 8, 2020)

The Commission on Elections (COMELEC) has extended voter registration until June 30, 2020, nationwide. The decision was made in line with the extension of the enhanced community quarantine (ECQ) until May 15. The extension will cover all COMELEC offices and satellite registration sites [1].

In order to promote transparency, the city government of Muntinlupa passed Ordinance 2020-094, which will disclose the personal information of confirmed, probable, and suspect COVID-19 cases in the city [2]. Personal information that will be disclosed will include the following: street name, gender, age, barangay address, condominium building, travel history, frequent locations, timeline of the start and end of symptoms, visited hospitals and public and private places. These information will be used for contact tracing, and a medical bulletin will be issued to alert the public about positive cases per barangay.

Still, COVID-19 patients, persons under monitoring (PUM), and persons under investigation (PUI) are encouraged to voluntarily identify themselves. Under the ordinance, COVID-19 patients, PUMS, and PUIs will not be directly or indirectly identified by the public. Meanwhile, those who will withhold information and lie about important details such as symptoms, travel history, address, and medical condition would be fined and imprisoned for up to nine months. Violators would be fined PhP5,000 and will be subjected to community service for 30 days.

After the success of barangay coding in markets, the city government of Pasig City has implemented barangay coding in other establishments in the city. The coding system is a measure to decongest markets and improve social distancing among the public.

In his Facebook Live session, Mayor Vico Sotto said that barangay coding is now Pasig-wide. The system will only allow residents to leave their homes twice a week to purchase essential goods and necessities. In addition to essential workers, people with emergency health cases and medical reasons will be allowed outside [3]. Leave permits would be issued per household in the city by the Pasig City Police.

Air Asia, Cebu Pacific, and Philippine Airlines suspended their flights until May 15 in line with the extension of the ECQ in selected parts of Luzon [4].

In their statement, Air Asia said that they will be canceling all domestic and international flights in the Philippines. Guests who booked their flights on or before April 24, 2020 with departures between March 23 to June 30, 2020 will be given flexible options for future travels. Options would be unlimited flight change or crediting the value of the booking for future flights.

Cebu Pacific announced that all of their flights will remain canceled until the end of ECQ. However, they will continue to provide cargo flights for essential goods such as PPEs, medicines, and other vital items. Those who have canceled flights can manage their bookings at the airline’s website. They can opt for free rebooking to any travel date within three months; change fees and fare differences will be waived. Another option would be to place the full ticket cost to their Travel Fund, which will be valid for a year. The refund process will start after the ECQ. Those who booked flights via travel agencies are advised to coordinate with them to manage the booking.

Meanwhile, Philippine Airlines has also announced the cancellation of all flights until May 15. Affected passengers can request for changes on their flight booking via PAL’s website, mobile app, and reservations hotline and ticket office. Options would be a refund without penalties, unlimited rebooking without penalty fees, and conversion of the amount to a travel voucher.

Selected malls outside lockdown areas would be allowed to operate starting May 1. However, there would be changes that shopping stores and establishments will implement to discourage lingering. Free Wifi would be removed and the airconditioning systems will be set to warmer temperatures. According to Presidential Spokesman Harry Roque, those who will be allowed to enter the mall must be aged 21 to 59 and should not appear sickly.

Face masks and hand sanitizers are required for all mall goers. Shops that will be allowed to reopen are supermarkets, drugstores, banks, laundry services, restaurants (for takeout and deliveries only), and hardware stores [5].

Robinsons Department Store launched their “We Shop For You” initiative which means that customers can now shop from the department store online and have the items delivered to their homes. The catalog can be viewed on Lazada’s LazMart. Customers can contact the nearest branch to them and send their contact details, address, preferred date or delivery, mode of payment, and list of items. Orders should be placed between 9:00 AM to 4:00 PM. Mode of payments include cash on delivery, credit or debit card, and bank transfer. The delivery fee depends on the choice of courier.

Miniso has also opened their stores for pick-up and delivery during ECQ. Customers are required to fill out an online order form and wait for a confirmation. Orders will be accepted from 10:00 AM to 3:00 PM from Mondays to Fridays. Confirmed orders can be settled via online banking. Delivery options are Grab or Lalamove. Miniso can also choose a courier for their customers, but delays in delivery should be expected. Meanwhile, those who will pick up their orders can pay with cash.

Items available for purchase include disposable masks, wet wipes, cotton pads, makeup removers, sleeping masks, skin care products, face towels, and other personal care products. Cute plush toys are also available for delivery.

Customers will have an easier way to check their water bills now that the Manila Water Co. established an SMS bill inquiry program. The system will alert customers of their bills through text messaging. To check their bills, customers can send the last eight digits of their contract account number to 225600. The format would be MW<space>Bill<space>CAN<space>last eight digits of contract number. The customer will receive information about their balance and will be given a list of channels where they can settle payments [6].

The Bureau of Internal Revenue (BIR) has extended the payment for taxes due to the extension of the ECQ in selected areas. The deadline for filing and payment for 2019 income tax returns has been moved to May 30. Meanwhile, the filing of monthly and quarterly value added tax returns has been moved to May 22 and 25, depending on the category of the taxpayers. Filing of VAT refund claims and other tax concerns are also included in the deadline extension.

A drive-thru testing facility has been launched by the city government of Taguig in an effort to contain the spread of COVID-19. The temporary facilities are located in Bonifacio Global City in Barangay Fort Bonifacio and in Lakeshore Tent in Barangay Lower Bicutan. The sites will be open only for two hours for the safety of the frontliners.

Those who want to get tested will be required to fill out an online assessment form. With this, health professionals will analyze if the patient needs to be tested. If the patient is required to get tested, they will be given a number to use for the drive-thru testing. Testings in Taguig will also follow the Systematic Mass Approach to Responsible Testing (SMART). They will include COVID-19 patients who are recovering; individuals with flu-like symptoms; frontliners; persons with direct contact to COVID-19 positive patients; immunocompromised individuals; elderly; and pregnant women [7].

Go to Yoorekka for more COVID-19 updates in Metro Manila.