Public drinking of liquor allowed until 8 pm

By Emme Rose Santiagudo

The Iloilo City government now allows the consumption of liquor in public places but only until 8 pm.

City Mayor Jerry Treñas issued executive order (EO) No. 086-A on Friday amending EO No. 086 which sets the guidelines for the Modified General Community Quarantine (MGCQ) in Iloilo City.

Section 8 of EO. No. 086-A prohibits public consumption of liquor and alcoholic beverages in Iloilo City after 8 pm.

Likewise, establishments shall be prohibited from selling and dispensing alcoholic beverages after 8 pm. of each day.

But Treñas said the liquor ban may be re-imposed for any violation of law or any ordinance related to the consumption of alcoholic beverages.

“Appropriate penalties will be imposed on establishments who violate this executive order,” he said in the order.

Before this, the city government banned the public consumption of alcoholic drinks.

On May 31, 2020, the mayor issued EO No. 086 mandating the regulated selling and dispensing of liquor and alcoholic beverages. It prohibited the public consumption of liquor and limited the selling and dispensing of alcoholic beverages in establishments until 5 p.m.

For the past three months, Treñas has flip-flopped on the liquor ban in Iloilo City due to the changing quarantine status in the metro and incidents related to abuse in alcohol consumption.

Last May 26, Treñas re-imposed the prohibition on the sale and consumption of liquor in the metro after receiving several reported incidents related to alcohol consumptions. The city then was still under general community quarantine (GCQ).

Among the notable alcohol-related incidents in the city include the death of a medical frontliner in Mandurriao district who was hit by a car driven by a drunk Indian national.

When the city was downgraded to MGCQ on June 1, the city government once again lifted the liquor ban.