Marikina to keep cinemas closed under MGCQ 

Marikina City Mayor Marcelino “Marcy” Teodoro said all cinemas in the city will remain closed even if Metro Manila will be placed under the Modified General Community Quarantine (MGCQ) next month, the most relaxed quarantine classification, according to a report by Manila Bulletin.

“When I consulted the movie operators, cinema operators, and mall owners here in Marikina, they agreed with the local government, for our cinemas, movie houses to remain closed at this point in time. I even issued an executive order on that matter,” Teodoro said over an interview on ABS-CBN News Channel (ANC).

Teodoro said last February 15 that the city government will issue an executive order suspending the reopening of cinemas and game arcades in the city after the Inter-Agency Task Force (IATF) allowed its operation amid the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic.

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“This is our problem — during MGCQ, cinemas would be open — so what would happen to that executive order? In our case, we will continue to implement the said executive order because based on our consultation with stakeholders, they are in agreement with us,” he added.

The mayor said that cinema operators also have the same sentiments because of the great risk that COVID-19 might infect a moviegoer which may affect the operation of the entire mall where the cinema is located, thus causing more harm than good.

The Inter-Agency Task Force on Emerging Infectious Diseases (IATF) approved the proposal to place the entire country under MGCQ by March. President Duterte has yet to decide on the matter.