BAGUIO CITY – The City Council, during last Monday’s regular session, rested Mayor Benjamin B. Magalong to intervene between the members, patrons and enthusiasts and owners or proprietors, mangers of gyms, fitness studios, and sports facilities that charge membership fees, dues and other monthly payments for the latter the possibility to offer and provide a waiver or reasonable reduction, discount or reprieve and other beneficial terms on all payments falling due within the period of the Luzonwide enhanced community quarantine (ECQ) without incurring interests, penalties, or other charges.
In a resolution, local legislators pointed out that sports like golf is an avid sponsor and supporter of private and public endeavors geared towards the promotion of public well being and public health like medical outreach programs, thus, golfers and other sports enthusiasts deserve of available incentives that will help in bringing back the vibrance of sports and fitness activities in the city.
The council disclosed that sports enthusiasts were reportedly shocked when they were asked to pay their membership and other monthly payables to their gyms, fitness studios, sports facilities and clubs when they resumed their operation where such accumulated fees included those supposedly charged them during the ECQ.
According to the local legislative body, Republic Act (RA) 11469 or the Bayanihan To Heal Us One Act of 2020 provided for a 30-grace period for the payments of all loans and rents falling due within the ECQ period without incurring interests, penalties, fees, or other charges.
Earlier, Baguio city was one of the areas that was placed under the modified general community quarantine (MGCQ) where a number of activities were already allowed such as the opening of gyms, fitness studios and sports facilities.
The council stipulated that operators, proprietors and managers of gyms, fitness studios and other sports facilities charging membership fees from their patrons should understand that their members were also heavily impacted by the ECQ implementation that resulted to their alleged displacement from work or the stoppage of their sources of livelihood, thus, the need for them to waive, grant discounts or reprieve in the collection of their monthly dues until such time that the situation normalizes.
The local legislative body underscored that there is also a need for owners of gyms, fitness studios and sports facilitate to be considerate to the plight of their members to be given sufficient time to settle their outstanding obligations as compelling them to do so will not be a sound business practice, especially at this time where people are still trying to recover from the heavy impact of the ECQ to their employment and their sources of livelihood.
Further, the council argued that if some building owners were able to waive the rentals of their lessees or grant reprieve to some of them during the duration of the ECQ, the same must be replicated by other establishments, especially those that collect membership fees from their patrons, to allow them to have a chance to recover from the prevailing crisis and be able to sustain the membership to the gyms, fitness studios and sports facilities based in the different parts of the city.
By Dexter A. see