WHAT ABOUT US? Resto-bar workers reeling from closure, liquor ban

By Francis Allan L. Angelo

 

Jay Borres has been working for 10 years for one of the resto-bars in Smallville Complex, one of Iloilo City’s prime leisure and recreation area in Mandurriao district.

Borres said his regular income as a waiter and tips from patrons were more than enough to raise his family.

But when the COVID-19-induced lockdown was imposed in March 2020, he had to depend on the Special Amelioration Program of the government and aids from their local government unit.

He also had to work for a food delivery service to tide him over amid the health crisis.

As the restriction was eased and restaurants, bars, and other leisure establishments gradually reopened, Borres said he returned to their restaurant, but things were not the same anymore.

Another shock came his way when Mayor Jerry Treñas ordered the closure of resto-bars until end-November as some establishments violated the ban on serving of alcoholic drinks.

Borres said their restaurant was forced to cut their work hours so that business can survive in the next two weeks. This means less income for him.

“We also understand the city’s purpose in closing restaurants but what about us? We are pretty hard up nowadays,” he added.

Borres’s predicament is very common in workers in the hospitality industry, particularly resto-bars that depend on customers who gradually return to eating and drinking out after months of lockdown.

Businessman Jim Velez of the Iloilo Smallville-Boardwalk Business Association, Inc. confirmed that 70 percent of the more than 30 restaurants in their area have closed shop because of the pandemic.

Velez said liquor has been the top come-on for their business and the liquor ban has affected their sales.

“Some of the restaurants have become stockrooms because of slow business, thus they decided to close because they cannot keep up with the rent and other operating costs,” he said in an interview with Aksyon Radyo-Iloilo.

Velez said they have no choice but to follow the closure order by the City Hall as they also want to follow health protocols.

He also hopes that the city’s quarantine status will be downgraded by end-November and allow them to serve alcoholic drinks once more.

“Even if we are allowed to reopen but if we are prohibited from serving alcoholic drinks, we doubt if we could return to pre-COVID operations because liquor is our top source of sales,” Velez said.

Mayor Jerry Treñas on Monday re-imposed the ban on drinking of alcoholic beverages in bars and restaurants.

In a press conference, Treñas said the ban is in keeping with the guidelines of the national Inter-Agency Task Force on the Management of Emerging Infectious Diseases (IATF-MEID), particularly prohibition on mass gatherings.

The mayor also cited the rising number of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) cases in other cities in the country.

“We are merely following the national IATF on this. We’ve also seen the rise in cases in Cebu, Baguio, and Davao, which I hear are already requesting to return to [Enhanced Community Quarantine] after reopening their economies, and we don’t want that to happen here,” said Treñas.

He clarified that while liquor consumption in public places has been banned again in the city, the sale of liquor is still allowed, but only until 6 pm.

He added that if the bars and restaurants wish to reopen and serve only allowed food and drinks, they have to re-apply for a permit with the city’s Business Permits and Licensing Office.

The mayor said the closure which runs until end-November is necessary because “we cannot police all the bars in the city.”