By J. Jala | 09:02 PM June 12, 2020
Starting June 14, religious gatherings in Bohol will be allowed on Sunday as long as they occupy only one fourth of the church or religious venue.
This was announced by Bohol Gov. Arthur Yap on Friday.
“Religious gatherings will be allowed up to 25% of the capacity of the church,” Yap said on Friday’s presscon after the 122nd Independence Day celebration.
He, however, clarified that the 25 percent allowance only covers the area inside the churches and chapel.
He said churchgoers are not allowed to stay and congregate outside their places of worship.
Under General Community Quarantine guidelines, mass gatherings are not yet allowed but Yap said they have recommended to the IATF to give Bohol and the Dioceses of Talibon and Tagbilaran a chance, in a way, to prepare and practice for a possible Modified General Community Quarantine (MGCQ) status.
Bohol is still under GCQ.
MGCQ is the most relaxed form of community quarantine imposed by the Philippine government.
Yap said there is no need for churchgoers to present their community quarantine passes as the entire family may be allowed to attend the masses together.
He also said he will still have to consult mayors and health officials to determine if it would be safe to allow senior citizens to have a window period for them to be allowed to go out of their homes to attend Sunday mass.
Last March, the diocese of Tagbilaran and Talibon Masses had shortened the masses to 30 minutes to reduce the chances of exposure to the disease among the parishioners.
However, last March 18, Bishop Abet Uy of Tagbilaran and Bishop Patrick Parcon suspended Masses in churches and chapels when COVID-19 cases soared high in the country.
