The Administrative Decree issued by His Excellency Most Rev. Mylo Hubert C. Vergara, DD., Bishop of Pasig would effect only in complete conformity with the Inter-Agency Task Force on Emerging Infectious Diseases (IATF-EID), task force organized by the executive of the Philippine government to respond to affairs concerning emerging infectious disease in the Philippines. Bishop Mylo is the representative of the CBCP in the IATF.
"Even if the national IATF-LGU allows the conduct of religious gatherings in Municipalities of Pasig, Pateros and Taguig, in 50% of seating capacity of our churches under the Modified General Community Quarantine (Modified GCQ) and in the possibility that the Community Quarantine may actually be lifted later on, should no deterioration in the risk level occur; close coordination with the local government units (LGUs) is mandatory for purposes of information, presenting diocesan instrument on safety protocols and or guidelines thereto, preferably approbation," stated in the decree.
Bishop Mylo is yet to declare the exact day of re-opening of cathedral and parish churches for public worships and liturgical services in the entire local Church.
The parish priest on the other hand, shall ensure that the entire place of worship has been sanitized prior to the reopening of cathedral and parish churches; the help of the city or municipal governments' health agency may be requested and, if this is not possible, the parish must do the sanitizing itself while using the DOH-prescribed chemical solution disinfectant.
The "New Normal" etiquette would imply a strict compliance to the "risk-based public health standards", e.g., use of face mask, practice of physical distancing, regular and proper hand sanitizing, regular routine disinfection, cough etiquette, and resilient body) as prescribed by the government and health authorities for COVID19 mitigation. (cf. DOH, Administrative Order No. 2020-0015, 27 April 2020.
Those feeling unwell physically especially with flu-like symptoms and cough are recommended to refrain from liturgical assemblies until they are certain of their diagnosis. "Taking the basic steps of wellness as recommended by the health authorities is not only sensible, but wise and considerate of others. In truth, it is an expression of genuine charity," the decree states.
"The dispensation from the Sunday Obligation will still be temporarily maintained during this time when the vaccine is not yet available and the threat of the virus is still widespread so that the elderly, those people with high-risk health issues, the sick, those who care for the sick, and people who prefer to exercise extreme caution will not feel obligated to attend the Mass in the church. They are encouraged to stay at home and watch the Mass online."
Contact Tracing Mechanism. Part of the announcement of the reopening of the church for public celebration of the sacraments and sacramentals is informing the people that a contact tracing mechanism will be implemented. This includes having pre-marked seats with numbers and calling the people to bring ballpens because they need to fill up forms containing their names, addresses, contact numbers, date and time of the mass attended and seat numbers. "The Parish priest can also device other creative scheme applicable and doable in his parish," the decree states.
Church facilities. The church shall designate doors for the faithful to enter through and other doors to leave through so that people coming in will not meet those coming out of the church. Marshalls and ushers shall be assigned in the entrances and exits on Sundays to maintain order. Entrance doors shall have hand sanitizers, footbath container and temperature scanner according to DOH requirements.
Holy water fonts would remain empty and the faithful is discourages to touch images while the use of air-conditioning units of churches is discouraged. Parish comfort rooms must be properly maintained. Hand soap or liquid soap shall be available for proper hand washing.
Ministers and servers. "Those who are feeling physically unwell and are immunocompromised will not be allowed to serve in the liturgical celebrations; every parish needs to take extra precaution that the elderly servers will not be exposed to occasions for the infection of the virus. If they insist to serve, they may be allowed but with proper precautions. As much as possible, their time of service should be shortened to lessen the possibility of exposure to infection. All Priests and lay ministers who take part in the celebrations need to wash and sanitize their hands before and after each celebration" are among the rules set by the Bishop.
The decree underscores the need to recruit and train younger Parish Ministers and Volunteers. "Many of our Ministers and Servers are elderly and therefore are the ones vulnerable to the virus. Care is to be exercised in this regard not to expose them to the infection of the virus. The Ministry for Liturgical affairs together with the Media Ministry will provide instructional videos and written materials for training."
The 18-page decree covers a wide range of topics such as: the new schedule of masses, anticipated Sunday Masses, Fiesta and regular monthly masses in chapels and those in malls, offices, and schools, offering of gifts and collections, sign of peace and communion by the hand, queuing; baptism, confirmation, reconciliation, pastoral care for the sick, celebration of weddings, funeral masses and rites, sacramentals, and other related topics like live streaming, churches during times of prayer, adoration chapels, and parish offices.
Bishop Vergara appeals for prudence in the use of social media: "Kindly refrain from circulating or passing misinformation or fake news about Covid-19. If you will be sharing something in the social media please make sure that they are coming from legitimate sources such as DOH, WHO, LGUs, CBCP and our Diocesan Social media account (Roman Catholic Diocese of Pasig)."
As of presstime, the Church is mulling an online Catechesis to help clarify matters arising from the implementation of the decree./Fr. JJopson, RCDPOC
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