Davao City – The City Government of Davao will impose a ‘one strike rule’ on establishments caught violating the rule on serving alcoholic drinks.
Mayor Inday Sara Duterte has ordered the Vices Regulation Unit and barangay officials to monitor establishments for violations of the Executive Order 50-A issued on Sept. 22, 2020.
The new EO was laid down with additional guidelines, particularly on the serving quantities of alcoholic and intoxicating drinks.
Under the new guidelines, Mayor Sara clarified the definition of “Serving” as the quantity of item served to one (1) customer.
This also conforms to Section 3 of the Department of Trade and Industry (DTI) Memorandum Circular No. 20-39 Series of 2020 wherein a maximum of two (2) servings of alcoholic beverages is allowed in restaurants and food businesses.
In the guidelines, Dabawenyos and business establishments are allowed the selling and serving alcoholic and intoxicating drinks as follows:
Beer: two (2) bottles/cans, provided that, 1 (one) bottle/can is not more than 400ml
Cocktail (mixed drink): two (2) shots/orders of the cocktail, provided that, one (1) shot/order shall not be more than 200ml
Liquor (hard drink) and all other drinks with alcohol: two (2) shots/order of the liquor or alcohol drink provided that, one (1) shot/order should not be more than 100ml.
The guidelines state that beyond the maximum volume of two (2) serving/order/shots per customer shall not be more than 800ml for beers, 400ml for cocktails, and 200ml for liquor and all other drinks with alcohol.
Mayor Sara also noted Section 6 of the EO that other establishments whose names include the word “bar” but the primary business is not serving liquor such as videoke bars, restaurant bars, etc. are allowed to open. These establishments are also subject to the serving limit by the DTI and Section 5 of the EO.
Also, there is no limit to the selling of beer and liquor in wholesale establishments, sari-sari stores, groceries, supermarkets, and other similar establishments and the selling of beer or liquor for take-home/take-out, or home delivery.
While sari-sari stores are allowed to sell beer and other alcoholic drinks, they cannot serve these within their premises to avoid mass gatherings. They are also prohibited from allowing people to converge, to have liquor drinking sessions (inuman shotting), conduct meetings and discussions or stand-by within, in front, or around their premises.
The VRU and the Barangay Council will conduct vigorous surveillance of all restaurants, fast food, sari-sari stores, and other establishments covered by the EO and must move for the closure of an establishment after a single violation is properly documented.
Mayor Sara reiterated her call on all Dabawenyos to never forget to practice the health protocols against Covid-19.
She said everyone in the restaurant, fast food, and other establishments can only remove their face mask when eating or drinking. Face masks should be worn when talking.
Servers should wear a face shield on top of their face mask, maintain at least one meter distance and handwashing facilities should be available for everyone.
(City Information Office)