Justice Secretary Menardo Guevarra said on Monday the Inter-Agency Task Force for the Management of Emerging Infectious Diseases (IATF) will discuss this week the appeals of parishes to increase the number of persons who can physically attend religious gatherings.
Guevarra said the meeting may be held on Tuesday or Thursday.
Among those who appealed for increased church capacity for religious gatherings was Manila Auxiliary Bishop Broderick S. Pabillo.
Bishop Pabillo had said that there has been no increase in the coronavirus 2019 (COVID-19) infections after the Black Nazerene feast in Quiapo, Manila.
In modified general community quarantine (MGCQ) areas, religious worship is allowed up to 50 per cent of venue capacity.
In GCQ areas, like the National Capital Region, 30 per cent is allowed. Guevarra had admitted that the increase in church capacity “has always been an option but it has also been a contentious issue in the IATF.”
“The question is: is public worship such an essential activity that we should freely allow it during the pandemic, subject to the usual health protocols? Some people will say yes, others will say no,” he said.
