Metro Manila mayors have agreed to implement a uniform curfew of nine hours as part of a "stricter" general community quarantine in the region to arrest the spread of coronavirus disease, Malacanang said on Wednesday.

Presidential Spokesperson Harry Roque, in an announcement at state-run PTV4 television station, said the "unified curfew" in Metro Manila is from 8pm to 5am starting Wednesday night, except for a few local government units, which have existing ordinances that need to be amended.

"We will have a uniform curfew here in Metro Manila. Here in Metro Manila, the uniform curfew is from 8pm to 5(am). The curfew hours tonight will not cover Manila, Muntinlupa, and Pasig because they need to amend their respective ordinances that state that curfew (starts) at 10pm," he said.

Roque, who is also the the spokesperson of the Inter-Agency Task Force for the Management of Emerging Infectious Diseases, said that the mayors of the three cities in the National Capital Region have committed to change their curfew hours from 8pm to 5am.

The decision was reached after a meeting on Tuesday night of the National Task Force Against COVID-19, along with some members of the Cabinet, in consultation with the local chief executives following the transition protocols of Metro Manila to GCQ from modified enhanced community quarantine, a stricter quarantine classification. Celerina Monte/DMS