Question & AnswerQ&A (EXECUTIVE ORDER NO. 326)
A bar is any place or establishment whose principal business is the sale of alcoholic beverages or liquors of any kind to be used or consumed within its premises.
A bar that allows music or dancing is considered a night club, cabaret, dancing school, or dance hall, and is subject to Executive Order No. 319.
No bar shall be established within 200 lineal meters from city halls, municipal buildings, provincial or national capitol buildings, public plazas, public schools, churches, hospitals, athletic stadiums, public parks, or any institution of learning or charity.
Bars must be well lit at all times with no dark corners, maintained in good sanitary condition, and shall have no private rooms or separate compartments except lavatories, dressing rooms for ladies, and kitchens.
Bars may operate from 9 a.m. to 12 midnight daily, except Saturdays and days before official holidays and town fiestas when they can operate until 2 a.m. of the following day. On Christmas Eve and New Year's Eve, different hours may apply.
Minors under 18 years old (except in private parties with parents/guardians and minors under 15 are barred entirely), intoxicated persons, and those carrying deadly weapons or firearms except government officials on duty are not allowed in bars.
Women employed as professional hostesses, waitresses, or dancers must be at least 21 years old with a health certificate or with parental consent if aged 18-20. They must not have contagious diseases or records of disorderly or immoral conduct.
The Department of the Interior supervises bars and enforces this Order.
An operator must obtain a permit from the city or provincial treasurer after complying with this Order, as well as a license issued by the treasurer upon payment of a license fee.
The Secretary of the Interior shall revoke the permit and license of any bar found to permit gambling or playing of prohibited games.
The permit and license to operate the bar will be withdrawn and revoked by the Secretary of the Interior, and sums paid for permits and licenses will forfeit to the concerned city or municipality.
Bars operating as of January 1, 1941, within prohibited zones or not meeting building requirements will be given one year to close, transfer, or comply, but the Secretary of the Interior may authorize continuance with presidential approval in special cases.
Yes, any action by city, provincial, or municipal treasurers may be appealed to the Secretary of the Interior whose decision is final.