BY ADRIAN P. NEMES III
Any form of festivity, excursion, picnic, revelry, and similar public gatherings in open and various places in celebration of the feast of St. John the Baptist on Thursday are suspended in Bacolod City.
The order was issued by Mayor Evelio Leonardia, through Executive Order Number 32, series of 2021, dated June 19.
Leonardia also banned any traditional practice and custom of water splashing in public, workplace, churches, and others.
He directed the barangay captains and their enforcement personnel to assist the city government, the City Legal Enforcement Team, and the police in implementing the EO.
On June 18, Leonardia met with resort owners of barangays Pahanocoy and Punta Taytay and café owners of barangays Alangilan and Granada, where they agreed to suspend their operations on June 24.
Leonardia earlier said that the closure of the resorts on Thursday will be a big boost to the city’s effort to contain the spread of the Covid-19 infection in Bacolod since traditionally, people flock these areas during the feast of St John the Baptist.
He appealed to the public to cooperate and refrain from going to the beaches and resorts on Thursday.
Leonardia warned that those who will defy the order will face charges for unjust vexation under Article 287 of the Revised Penal Code, as amended by Section 73 of RA 10951.*
