MANILA, Philippines – Over 100 Filipinos and foreigners, including celebrity KC Montero, were arrested on Sunday, June 28, after being caught gathering at Skye Bar in the posh Salcedo Village in Makati City while the region is still quarantined.

According to the Makati City police, they received a tip about people partying in the area and launched a surprise inspection leading to the mass arrest.

One of the bar’s owners, Felix Maramba, was among those arrested, said Makati Police Investigation Unit Chief Major Gideon Ines Jr.

“Inimbitahan daw sila sa online ng owner ng bar, ‘yung naaresto, para sa reopening nila,” Ines added

(The owner, the one who got arrested, had invited these people online to attend the bar’s reopening.)

The rules they broke: Metro Manila is under general community quarantine until the end of June.

Bars are not allowed to reopen, and mass gatherings are banned. They can face complaints for violation of the Bayanihan Act and the Mandatory Reporting of Notifiable Diseases and Health Events of Public Health Concern Act.

Montero claimed that he and his wife were only there to have a meal, and that they did not know that bars were not yet allowed to operate. (READ: Limited resto dine-in allowed in GCQ areas starting June 15)

“Regardless kung alam niya o hindi (whether he knew or not), they still violated physical distancing,” Ines stressed.

Why this matters: The arrests come after the Philippines eased lockdown restrictions after months of enhanced community quarantine. Experts had warned of people falling complacent even when the virus continues to spread rapidly.

The Philippines is leading in the rise of novel coronavirus cases in the entire Western Pacific region, according to data from the World Health Organization. From June 16 to June 27, COVID-19 cases in the Philippines jumped 8,143, placing it ahead of 22 countries in the region.

As of Monday, the country has a total of 35,455 coronavirus cases, with 1,244 deaths and 9,686 recoveries. – Rappler.com