Following the apprehension of more than 100 people for violating social distancing at a bar in Makati, the Business Permits and Licensing Office (BPLO) of Makati City shut down on Monday the Skye Bar in Barangay Bel-Air.
Personnel of the Makati City BPLO went to Skye Bar to place the closure order on the door of the bar.
The city government said the bar was shut down for violating Republic Act (RA) 11332 or the “Mandatory Reporting of Notifiable Diseases and Health Events of Public Health Concern Act”, and the Revised Makati Revenue Code City Ordinance No. 2004-A-025.
Mayor Abigail “Abby” Binay said the BPLO conducts routine inspections on business establishments to ensure compliance amid the COVID-19 pandemic.
Around 6 p.m. of Sunday, a team of policemen led by Makati Police Investigation Unit chief Maj. Gideon Ines raided the Skye Bar located on the 18th floor of M1 Tower in Salcedo Village, Makati.
Police said they earlier received a tip that the bar and its customers are violating social distancing despite the country is still under community quarantine to stop the spread of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19).
Among those arrested were actor and TV host KC Montero and his wife.
Ines said Montero told them that he did not know that bars are not yet allowed to operate, and that he and his wife were just there to eat.
On Monday afternoon, the Makati City Police filed charges against Montero, his wife, and 119 others for violating RA 1133, and for resistance and disobedience to a person in authority.
The prosecutor, Ines said, personally appeared at the Guadalupe Nuevo Gym to process the cases of the individuals involved.
“They were detained at the gym because there are so many of them. They can’t practice social distancing at our detention cells,” he added.
As of writing today, Ines said the more than 100 individuals are still detained at the Guadalupe Nuevo Gym. (Jel Santos)
