MANILA - Megaworld on Thursday said it waived the rent for retail tenants in its malls and commercial centers affected by the COVID-19 lockdown.

Rental charges for tenants that were unable to operate in Metro Manila and for the rest of Luzon are waived for the period of March 16 to April 12, Megaworld said in a statement.

Megaworld Lifestyle Malls operates malls and commercial centers in various points in Luzon including Quezon City, Taguig, Pasay, Las Pinas, Binondo and Alabang West, as well as in Laguna and Batangas, its parent Megaworld said.

“We understand the impact of our mall closures to our retail partners and merchants, and we would like to provide them with this reprieve in order to help them recover during this difficult time,” said Graham Coates, first vice president and head of Megaworld Lifestyle Malls.

Malls in Metro Manila were forced to suspend operations due to the Luzon-wide lockdown. Businesses and public transport were ordered shut to limit the movement of people in a bid to curb the spread of COVID-19.

Essential services will remain open throughout the enhanced community quarantine which ends on April 12. Continuous sanitization for supermarkets, pharmacies, clinics and banks within its facilities will be implemented, it said.

More than 1,000 food packs and water have also been distributed to frontline workers fighting the COVID-19, Megaworld said, adding that more would be donated in the coming days.

Other mall operators SM Supermalls, Ayala Corp and Robinsons, have also waived tenant fees in select outlets for the duration of the lockdown to encourage business owners to channel the funds to affected employees instead.