Sunday, February 14, 2021
Metro Manila mayors oppose reopening of cinemas: official
Metro Manila mayors oppose the reopening of cinemas in their jurisdictions, the Metropolitan Manila Development Authority said Sunday.
The mayors are drafting a formal notice opposing the national government's decision to allow the resumption of operations of movie theaters in areas under general community quarantine, said MMDA chairman Benhur Abalos.
"Napagkasunduan po ng majority na talagang 'wag muna, as far as cinema is concerned. Kasi po unang-una, it’s enclosed. Pangalawa, wala namang sineng 30 minutes. Matagal po yan at air-conditioned," he told ABS-CBN's TeleRadyo.
(Majority of the mayors agreed not to reopen cinemas. First of all, it's enclosed. Second, movies last more than 30 minutes, and cinemas are air-conditioned.)
"Halos wala namang nagpo-produce ng sine ngayon."
(No one is producing films nowadays.)
Abalos said he supports the reopening of the economy, but urged for more gradual steps.
"Tingnan natin, unti-untiin natin kung walang spike. Nakakatakot dito mag-spike. Mahirap bumalik sa dati. Eto na yung bakuna eh," he said.
(Let's see, let's take it slow if there's no spike in cases. What's scary is if there will be a spike. It would be difficult to go back. The vaccine is almost here.)
COVID-19 vaccines from global alliance COVAX Facility are expected to arrive as early as this week as the Philippines reported 547,255 total coronavirus cases on Saturday, with 34,967 active infections.
https://news.abs-cbn.com/news/02/14/21/metro-manila-mayors-oppose-reopening-of-cinemas-official