THE government has allowed the limited holding of religious activities during the Holy Week for areas covered by the travel bubble in Metro Manila and its surrounding areas.
On Thursday, the Inter-Agency Task Force for the Management of Emerging Infectious Diseases (IATF) approved the appeal of Catholic bishops to hold religious services next week, as locals continues to commemorate the 500th anniversary of Christianity’s introduction in the country.
“The IATF listened to the said appeal and decided to allow religious services, from April 1 to 4,” Roque said in an interview with PTV on Friday.
The IATF made the decision on the condition that the venues for such activities should have 10-percent seating capacity at all times.
He stressed the policy applies not only for Catholics, but also for Muslims and the believers of other religions.
No outside-church crowd, audiovisual
To ensure the strict enforcement of the policy, the IATF proposed the used of a reservation system for these events.
Mass gathering outside of churches and venues for religious activities will be prohibited, and as part of this rule, beaming the indoor rites to crowds outside via audiovisual means is also banned — a rule that could severely limit the number of participants.
While live-singing inside the venues but on a limited scale is allowed, the IATF urged religious denominations to use recorded signing instead.
“The local barangay units and local units of PNP (Philippine National Police) have been tasked to enforce the said protocols,” Roque said.
Welcome development
CBCP Public Affairs Committee Executive Secretary Fr. Jerome Secillano welcomed the new IATF policy.
“It’s a welcome development for the faithful. At least, they’ll be given a chance to celebrate and commemorate the Easter Triduum, Easter Sunday being the highest point of our faith,” Secillano said.
He noted the church will comply with all the protocols stipulated by the IATF.
On Monday, the IATF decided to impose the “travel bubble” in the National Capital Region (NCR), Laguna, Cavite, Rizal, and Bulacan, which are collectively known as NCR Plus, from March 22 to April 4, 2021 to slow down the recent spike in Covid-19 cases.
Prior to IATF’s new pronouncement, all mass gatherings, including religious activities were banned in NCR Plus.
Image credits: Nonie Reyes
Read full article on BusinessMirror
