Liberal face mask rule seen to boost tourism

CEBU, Philippines — The liberalization of the mask mandate is expected to give the Philippine tourism industry a better chance to regain its vibrant and booming operations, said Tourism Secretary Christina Garcia-Frasco.

“With the relatively low COVID-19 figures in the Philippines, and in order to significantly improve the country’s openness and attractiveness as a tourism destination, one that we desperately need in order to welcome economic recovery, it would certainly be beneficial to relax the mask mandate to be at par with the other countries in the ASEAN region, Asia, Europe, and North America so that we will no longer be left behind in terms of the revitalization of the tourism economy,” Frasco said in a statement posted at DOT’s website.

Frasco welcomes the decision of the Inter-Agency Task Force for the Management of Emerging Infectious Diseases (IATF-EID) to recommend to President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. the optional wearing of face masks in open spaces, or non-crowded outdoor areas with good ventilation.

As announced by Press Secretary Trixie Cruz-Angeles, in a press briefing on Wednesday (September 7), the IATF-EID has recommended “to liberalize our mask mandate and make mask-wearing outdoors voluntary across the country. It becomes optional in open areas or non-crowded outdoor areas with good ventilation, provided that senior citizens and immunocompromised individuals are highly encouraged to wear their masks, to continue wearing masks.”

Frasco, who is a member of the IATF-EID,  emphasized the urgent need for the national government to adapt to prevailing global practices and be at par with the country’s ASEAN neighbors in terms of entry processes and health and safety protocols in order to jumpstart tourism recovery in the Philippines.

“With the recent improvement of the global tourism landscape as a result of immunization, countries around the world have been instituting various measures such as the reopening of international borders, and relaxation of health and safety protocols and requirements, resulting in an immediate positive economic impact of these countries and faster recovery of their respective portfolios,” said Frasco.

Based on a comparative analysis of mask mandates, COVID-19 incidence, and tourist arrivals of the Top 5 ASEAN countries comprising Singapore, Thailand, Malaysia, Vietnam, and Indonesia, more liberal mask mandates did not appear to cause an uptick in COVID-19 cases.

“The Philippines is currently in a position wherein its existing entry and stay policies for tourists convey only a partial reopening of the country to international travel. For this reason, the Philippines is immediately at a grave disadvantage as a tourism destination vis-à-vis its neighboring ASEAN member states because the latter, which are the Philippines’ direct tourism competitors, have all lifted their mask mandates either totally or partially,” Frasco explained.

Aside from Singapore, other ASEAN countries saw a general increase in tourist arrivals, and except for Indonesia, a general decrease in the number of daily COVID-19 cases after mask mandates were liberalized.

“There seems to be no direct correlation between the lifting of mask mandates and the increase in COVID-19 cases, only that the lifting of the mask mandates has served to more than double the tourist arrivals in these countries,” said Frasco.

Aside from the ASEAN area, the likes of Japan, South Korea, and Hong Kong have also started to liberalize the use of face masks accordingly while the United Kingdom and the rest of the European Union (EU) and the United States of America (USA) have lifted its mask mandate since last year.

Frasco also cited her very own Province of Cebu as a model in liberalizing mask mandates.

“After lifting mask mandates, especially outdoors, Cebu has maintained a relatively low increase in the number of reported COVID-19 cases, and has maintained its risk classification at low levels,” she explained.

A few months after Cebu Governor Gwendolyn Garcia issued an executive order rationalizing the wearing of face masks in the province, requiring such “only in closed and/or air-conditioned spaces, and optional in well-ventilated areas and open spaces, Cebu City Mayor Michael Rama also issued his own EO which is the non-obligatory wearing of face mask under its jurisdiction except in hospitals.

Rama’s EO paved the way for DILG Secretary Benhur Abalos to bring up the matter regarding the country’s mask mandate to the IATF when it re-convened last week.  — GMR (FREEMAN)