By Joseph B.A. Marzan
Iloilo City Mayor Jerry Treñas on Monday re-imposed the ban on drinking of alcoholic beverages in bars and restaurants.
In a press conference, Treñas said the ban is in keeping with the guidelines of the national Inter-Agency Task Force on the Management of Emerging Infectious Diseases (IATF-MEID).
The mayor also cited the rising number of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) cases in other cities in the country.
“We are merely following the national IATF on this. We’ve also seen the rise in cases in Cebu, Baguio, and Davao, which I hear are already requesting to return to [Enhanced Community Quarantine] after reopening their economies, and we don’t want that to happen here,” said Treñas.
He clarified that while liquor consumption in public places has been banned again in the city, the sale of liquor is still allowed, but only until 6 pm.
He added that if the bars and restaurants wish to reopen and serve only allowed food and drinks, they have to re-apply for a permit with the city’s Business Permits and Licensing Office.
The mayor said the closure which runs until end-November is necessary because “we cannot police all the bars in the city.”
QR SYSTEM
The city also demonstrated its new Quick-Response (QR) code contact tracing system named ‘Uswag Tracer’ (https://www.uswagtracer.com), which also went online on Monday.
Users are grouped in three categories – Iloilo City Residents, Working in Iloilo City, and Visiting Iloilo City.
The user must input in the contact tracing system his/her full name, address, birth date, contact number, and email address.
The QR code will then be sent to the user’s email address, which should then be shown at the Iloilo City Hall and all business establishments within the city.
The QR codes can be printed or stored in phones via screenshots.
Users will also be able to scan other users’ QR codes for them to be able to record their contacts, up to 99 “levels” of contact.
The system has already been in place for all employees of the city hall since October, with the QR codes printed on their ID cards.
The mayor’s executive assistant for information technology Francis Cruz allayed security fears, saying the data will be protected.
“We’re using end-to-end encryption to ensure that the data will not be breached. The technology will be turned over to the City Health Office once it is fully validated, and only they will have access to the information that is entered in the contact tracer,” Cruz said.
Cruz added that everyone will be given a two-week moratorium before the full implementation of the system.
Business establishments in all levels will also be trained on how to use the tracing system.
For those establishments without QR code scanning capability, Cruz said they are “still looking into ideas” on how to assist them.
The city government is also looking into establishing help desks in barangay halls and malls to help those who may not be able to fully grasp the system.
According to Cruz, more than 23,000 residents have already registered under the new QR code system as of Monday afternoon.
