The state-run Clark Development Corporation (CDC) has cancelled “all scheduled public events” in the Clark Freeport Zone as the number of confirmed COVID-19 cases continue to increase.
In a Memo Circular issued on Monday, CDC President and CEO Noel F. Manankil said “the CDC, as the government regulatory unit within the Clark Freeport Zone, hereby orders the postponement of all scheduled public events until further notice.”
The CDC cancelled public events inside the freeport zone amid calls for the cancellation of the Aurora 2020 Food and Music Festival slated on March 13 and 14, 2020 at the Clark Global City.
This as the confirmed cases of COVID-19 increased to 20.
The two-day Aurora 2020 Food and Music Festival will have local musical artists and will also feature a hot air balloon display and night glow.
Manankil said the CDC was complying with the directive of President Rodrigo Duterte especifically Proclamation No. 922, series of 2020 which declared a “State of Public Health Emergency.””Government agencies and Local Government Units are hereby given the authority to immediately act to prevent loss of life, utilize appropriate resources to implement urgent and critical measures to contain or prevent the spread of COVID-19, mitigate its effects and impact to the community and prevent serious disruption of the functioning of the government and the community.”The CDC said organizers of the Aurora 2020 Food and Music Festival had already been informed about the cancellation of all public events in the freeport zone.
Organizers of the Aurora 2020 Food and Music Festival are yet to issue their statement.Some individuals who already bought their VIP tickets of Aurora 2020 are reportedly selling them at discounted price.
The COVID-19 had been making major disruptions all over the world affecting not only the Philippines but the entire world economies. Most of the countries are cancelling public events to avoid transmissions of the coronavirus that already took the lives of more than 3000 people all over the world.