Mayor Edgardo Labella on Tuesday said the city government will allow dawn masses or Misa de Gallo only in churches but will prohibit the nine-day Eucharistic celebrations in malls, small chapels and other venues.

This policy will ensure the strict observance of minimum health protocols, particularly the 50-percent capacity per venue at one time, Labella said in a press conference at the Cebu City Hall.

Since the city is under a modified general community quarantine, churches must observe the 50-percent capacity limit.

“While the authority to decide whether or not to conduct Misa de Gallo is given to the LGUs (local government units), I myself is in favor of the Misa de Gallo,” Labella said in mixed Cebuano and English.

He said he decided to limit the pre-Christmas dawn celebrations to the main churches where compliance with the policies and the health protocols set by the Inter-Agency Task Force for the Management of Emerging Infectious Diseases (IATF) in combating the coronavirus disease (Covid-19) can easily be monitored.

The city, he said, has sought the assistance of the Parish Pastoral Security Council of the Archdiocese of Cebu in laying down security measures as well as in deploying marshals to ensure churchgoers’ compliance with health measures such as wearing of face mask and physical distancing.

Meanwhile, Labella urged Cebuanos to bear with the city’s policy in not allowing all establishments to reopen even if the capital city is now under lower quarantine restrictions.

“Always remember, even if Cebu City has been under MGCQ but not all establishments are open. We have opened the economy but those establishments that may put the health and lives of the people at risk are still prohibited today,” he said. (PNA)