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Makati revives free movies for senior citizens; over 82,000 to benefit

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ABS-CBN News

<div class="embed-wrap"><figure data-feedback="fb:likes,fb:comments"><img alt="Photo from the Makati local government" s="" Facebook="" src="https://sa.kapamilya.com/absnews/abscbnnews/media/2023/news/06/01/makati-senior-citizens-06012023.jpg"/><figcaption><em>Photo from the Makati local government&#x27;s Facebook page </em></figcaption></figure></div><p>MANILA — The Makati City government on Thursday revived its free movies program for the city&#x27;s elderly, with over 82,000 in the sector seen to benefit from this. </p><p>The city&#x27;s program was suspended in 2020 at the height of the COVID-19 pandemic, as cinemas were shut to arrest the spread of the virus. </p><ul class="op-related-articles">	<li><a href="https://news.abs-cbn.com/entertainment/05/05/20/ilang-pelikula-nahinto-ang-shooting-dahil-sa-covid-19">Ilang pelikula nahinto ang shooting dahil sa COVID-19</a></li></ul><ul class="op-related-articles">	<li><a href="https://news.abs-cbn.com/news/02/15/21/quezon-city-rejects-reopening-cinemas-amid-pandemic">Quezon City rejects reopening cinemas amid pandemic</a></li></ul><p>&quot;By reinstating this initiative, we aim to provide them with a much-needed avenue for entertainment, joy, and social engagement,&quot; Makati Mayor Abby Binay said in a statement. </p><p>Binay said senior citizens could watch movies for free in select malls such as Glorietta, Greenbelt, and Circuit Makati &quot;three times a day for the first and second screenings.&quot; </p><p>Senior citizens, however, must be active Blu Card members and Makatizen Card holders and download their Makatizen <a href="https://mymakatizencard.ph/virtualcard">Virtual Card</a> QR codes. </p><p>This QR Code would be shown to the local government&#x27;s cinema partners for access.</p><p>&quot;The past years have been challenging for everyone, particularly our senior citizens who were among the most vulnerable during the health crisis,&quot; she said. </p><p>Binay said they plan to include the persons with disabilities (PWDs) under the program and tap more cinemas as their partners.</p><p>The cinema industry lost a total<a href="https://news.abs-cbn.com/business/10/11/21/cinemas-back-limited-resumption-under-alert-level-3"> P21 billion in revenues </a>in 2021 after movie screenings were suspended in 2020, the Cinema Exhibitor Association of the Philippines (CEAP) had said. </p><p>When restrictions eased later that year, cinemas were only allowed to operate at a limited capacity, and only fully-vaccinated individuals from COVID-19 were allowed to enter these.</p><div><strong>— Job Manahan, ABS-CBN News</strong></div><div><strong>FROM OUR ARCHIVES</strong></div><figure class="op-interactive"><iframe allow="autoplay; fullscreen" frameBorder="0" height="100%" id="ivsplayer01" scrolling="no" src="https://player.ivideosmart.com/ivsplayer/v4/dist/html/iframe-src.html?iframeid=ivsplayer01&amp;key=e8c22c015ca9eafa76f1e3edfa03c603&amp;spid=3001339&amp;vid=1799185" width="100%"></iframe></figure><div class="iwantbar">Watch more News on <a href="https://www.iwanttfc.com/#!/browse/Genres/News/tag_id_genres/id_news" target="_blank">iWantTFC</a></div>

The city's program was suspended in 2020 at the height of the COVID-19 pandemic, as cinemas were shut to arrest the spread of the virus. 