Happy (bloody?) days are back

TO WHOM much is given, much is expected.

And with businesses, especially nightspots and other leisure establishments, getting their wish of repealing the Espinosa era Executive Order (EO) 146-2017, much will be expected of them to protect their patrons.

EO 146-2017 was not an out-of-whim edict. It was a reaction to the never-ending rumbles that marred Iloilo City’s prime leisure spot, Smallville. To prevent drunks, especially the young ones, from bashing each other’s heads, then Mayor Jose Espinosa III imposed a liquor ban on the city starting 2 a.m. The order also forced nightspots to close shop by that time.

Saying that it affects the effort of the city to become a Meetings, Incentives, Conferences, and Exhibitions (MICE) destination (a lot of tourists would love to get drunk away from home), Mayor Jerry Treñas repealed EO 146-2017.

“We are a highly urbanized city and ginatulod ta pa nga mangin MICE destination ang siyudad so I don’t think it is proper for us to have that kind of curfew,” was Treñas’s justification of repealing the EO.

The returning mayor said it is now the onus of the police to ensure peace and order after the abolition of the liquor ban.

Of course, partyphiles erupted in Bacchanalian jubilation as they can now party from sundown to sunrise. Consequently, more heads will break open, more bones will fracture, and possibly more lives will cross over to the great beyond after July 1.

Yes, the police will have to work their asses off to keep the peace in leisure spots, but owners of bars, restaurants, etc. are equally responsible for our safety.

Businesses in Iloilo, especially those catering to our mundane needs for drunken pleasure, should also take the cudgels of ensuring that we go home in one piece, no matter how inebriated we are. They profit from our indulgences, they better make sure we can return another day and enjoy life till the wee hours of the day.

But if you don’t want to get bashed at bars, then drink moderately and go home in peace.