Alert Level 3 Opens Up Cinemas, While Schools Remain Closed

The Philippine government announced on Oct. 14, 2021 that cinemas are now allowed to operate under Alert Level 3 starting Oct. 16, on a 30% capacity for fully vaccinated individuals.

Aside from movie theatres, theme parks, recreational parks, and tourist attractions in Metro Manila are also allowed to operate at 30% capacity and 50% for outdoor venues, with the minimum public health standards strictly implemented.

In an interview, Department of the Interior and Local Government Undersecretary Jonathan Malaya said people are happy with their decision to reopen cinemas, including the Cinema Operators Association.

President of the Cinema Exhibitor Association of the Philippines (CEAP), Charmaine Buzon, mentioned that they have drawn up a set of protocols to ensure the safe reopening of cinemas, where moviegoers will have to sit one seat apart and wear face masks at all times. Eating will not be allowed.

What about schools?

While some are happy with the decision to reopen movie theatres, others have brought up the need to reopen schools and start face-to-face classes.

Raoul Manuel who is the National President of Kabataan Partylist published a tweet with a graphic that reads “Bubuksan na ang mga sinehan, ang mga paaralan, kalian kaya?”

Users also used the hashtag #LigtasNaBalikEskwela to call out the Commission on Higher Education (CHED) and Department of Education (DepEd) regarding the safe reopening of face-to-face classes.

Calling the attention of ChEd, education for two consecutive year is really to hard to reach. Learning in online modality aren't sure & its so vague literally saying, not all student has stable internet connectivity. Hoping to have f2f soon🙏😔
Godbless😇#LigtasNaBalikEskwela

— Chelseyyy (@Chalk_wharfxxx) October 14, 2021

My course is not on the priority list, gets naman pero sana pag isipan pa ring mabuti. Most in our batch has already been vaccinated, and we are all willing to take any precautions necessary just to be safe because we are all tired of being in this situation #LigtasNaBalikEskwelahttps://t.co/j9SCNQnuZY

— ｒｏｃｈｉｅ (@Pororochie_) October 14, 2021

On Oct. 11, CHED Chairperson Prospero De Vera mentioned in a briefing that they are looking into opening face-to-face classes for all degrees, considering that the colleges and universities are in low-risk areas and have high vaccination rates.

Currently, only certain degrees are allowed for in-person classes under MGCQ:

• Medicine and Health-allied
• Hospitality / Hotel and Restaurant Management
• Tourism/ Travel Management
• Marine Engineering
• Marine Transportation

Meanwhile, a pilot run of limited face-to-face classes will be implemented by the DepEd beginning Nov. 15. DepEd Undersecretary Nepomuceno Malaluan stated in the Senate Basic Education Committee hearing that they timed this pilot run to start on the second academic quarter of the school calendar.

The pilot will run until the end of January 2022, and the list of participating schools is still being finalized.