BY NEIL RAMOS
The Department of Trade and Industry (DTI) on Sunday said it will not oppose the decision of the Metro Manila Council (MMC) to keep movie theatres closed amid the ongoing pandemic.
In a statement, Trade Secretary Ramon Lopez said, “We respect the decision of the MM Mayors, as they want to be more careful and would like to observe a few more weeks the stats of COVID cases. I believe we can wait for a few weeks more, maybe two weeks.”
In any case, Lopez reiterated allowing cinemas to resume business would help a lot in reviving the entertainment industry, among sectors that suffered greatly following lockdown implementation.
According to Lopez, from P13 billion, the industry has shrunk to P1.3 billion in 2020.
He believes allowing traditional cinemas to open at 50 % capacity could help boost economic activity in the National Capital Region and nearby provinces, which account for 50 percent of the entire domestic economy.
He urged, “The calibrated and safe reopening of more sectors has been successful as COVID cases continued to decline. We should continue the momentum so we could bring back more jobs for our kababayans.”
If ever, they will adhere to the decision of the Inter-Agency Task Force (IATF) for the Management of Emerging Infectious Disease on the matter.
“The IATF has approved cinemas among other sectors to be reopened under GCQ. The reopening of cinemas will be subject to IATF’s finalization of implementing guidelines and extra safety and health protocols with the LGUs,” said Lopez.
