DILG rejects mask order

CEBU, Philippines —  The Department of Interior and Local Government (DILG) is not acknowledging the executive order of Governor Gwendolyn Garcia, which makes optional the wearing of facemasks in open spaces in Cebu Province.

DILG said the policies of the Inter-Agency Task Force (IATF) should prevail, as far as response to the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic is concerned.

“This Department does not recognize the Executive Order issued by Cebu Governor Gwen Garcia because we have the IATF Guidelines approved by the President,” reads the statement issued by DILG Secretary Eduardo Año on Friday, June 10, 2022.

Año said President Rodrigo Duterte has directed the continuous wearing of masks except in some circumstances.

Under IATF guidelines, masks should be worn properly at all times, whether outdoors or in indoor private or public establishments, including in public transportation by land, air, or sea, except when eating and drinking and in participating in team and individual sports in venues where ventilation standards can be maintained and while practicing outdoor sports/exercise.

Año emphasized that adherence to minimum public health standards, which includes the wearing of face mask, is key to defeating COVID-19 alongside vaccination and booster shots. Continuous masking is also expected to protect people from other infectious and respiratory diseases including monkeypox.

“Our adherence to minimum public health standards (MPHS) is the key to defeating this pandemic. Wearing of face masks, together with vaccination and boosters have helped keep our COVID-19 case counts low despite the detection of new subvariants. Scientific evidence worldwide proves that the use of face masks reduces the transmission not only of COVID-19, but also of other infectious and respiratory diseases including Monkeypox, should it reach our country,” Año said.

“The Department wishes to remind the public and all Local Government Units that the COVID-19 virus is still present and the pandemic is not yet over. Individuals can still catch the virus, most especially our senior citizens and vulnerable population. We should therefore be vigilant, continue our adherence to all MPHS and get vaccinated or boosted immediately,” Año said further.

Año said the police "will continue to confront, apprehend, and arrest, if necessary, all violators of IATF Guidelines and MPHS in the Province of Cebu."

Arrest

Garcia, however, questioned DILG’s position, particularly the arrest of health protocol violators.

In a press conference in Cebu hours after Año released his statement, Garcia said that DILG should have ordered the arrest of those who did not wear masks at political rallies leading to the May 9, 2022 elections.

“The public is sick and tired of this facemask, especially when it’s already unreasonable to be wearing it in wide open, ventilated areas…Why did the DILG not instruct the police to apprehend all those that attended rallies who are not wearing facemask or all those who stood by the roadsides in hundreds of thousands for the caravans not wearing face masks? And now, you ask PNP to apprehend those not wearing facemask because of my executive order?” Garcia said.

“Were they sleeping during the time of the campaign? And now they’ve suddenly awakened kay mana na ang election?” she added.

Autonomy

Garcia said she will invoke section 105 of the Local Government Code, which defines the extent to which the national government can intervene in local governance during a public health crisis.

“In cases of epidemics, pestilence, and other widespread public health dangers, the Secretary of Health may, upon the direction of the President and in consultation with the local government unit concerned, temporarily assume direct supervision and control over health operations in any local government unit for the duration of the emergency, but in no case exceeding a cumulative period of six (6) months. With the concurrence of the government unit concerned, the period for such direct national control and supervision may be further extended,” the Code reads.

Garcia said:

“I am ready now to test that. Local autonomy must prevail, especially that it is us who know what our situation here is.”

Under Garcia’s executive order signed on June 8, 2022, “the wearing of face masks shall be required only in closed and/or air-conditioned spaces. On the other hand, the use of face masks shall be optional on well-ventilated and open spaces.”

But Capitol still “highly encourages” the wearing of mask in crowded places.

Except for Talisay City and the towns of Alcoy, Borbon, Oslob, Pilar, Santander, and Tudela that are already under Alert Level 1, the rest of Cebu Province is under Alert Level 2 until June 15, 2022.

DOH

For its part, the Department of Health (DOH) said it was not consulted on Garcia’s executive order.

“Unang-una, gusto nating linawin, ano… hindi po kami kinunsulta regarding this move or executive order coming from Cebu… Pangalawa, gusto lang namin ipaalam sa ating mga kababayan, ang Department of Health po, kasama po ng ating mga eksperto, ay naninindigan sa ating posisyon na ang mask po ay still valuable in our response… nirerekomenda natin na ipagpatuloy natin isuot po ang facemask dahil isa po ito sa ating mga panlaban dito po sa COVID-19 na virus na meron tayo ngayon,” said Undersecretary Maria Rosario Vergeire during a virtual presser also on June 10.

“Meron hong studies na ating pong naibigay sa ating mga eksperto na the mask not only protects us from COVID-19 but from other respiratory infections, as well… as well as the Monkeypox na nagti-threat ngayon, threatening the whole world dito sa sakit na ito,” Vergeire added.

“Maliit na sakripisyo para maprotektahan tayong mga kababayan natin, pati ang ating mga kumunidad… ay sana po ay wag nating kontrahin,” she said.

She pointed out that the slight increase in cases in the past few weeks only show that COVID-19 is still around.

She advised those who are unvaccinated to still wear a mask outdoors, especially when they are in crowded places or in the presence of immunocompromised individual or individuals with comorbidities.

DOH said good airflow and masks are still a better combination.

Other countries

Dr. Edsel Salvana, member of DOH’s Health Technical Advisory Group, said that some of the countries with the highest number of COVID-19 actives cases – while having high vaccination rates – have dropped their mask mandates.

Salvana also reminded the public that treatment of severe COVID-19 is very expensive, ranging from 300,000 to P5 million as compared to a few pesos for a mask.

“So it's actually not just an ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure. Prevention is more than a thousand times cheaper than the cure. Assuming you survive. Stay safe and keep those masks on,” Salvana said.

Cebu City

Even with the “One Island” principle when it comes to policies, Mayor Michael Rama said Cebu City will continue to adhere to IATF guidelines, especially that the city is a convergence point of people in Cebu Island.

 “We have a different geographic situation with Cebu Province… We have to look at it that Cebu Province and Cebu City, dili parehas in point of assembly… ang atong syudad, bungkag…. Geographically, sentro biya ni sa tibuok island of Cebu… When you are talking about converge point, we are more of a recipient of influx of people,” Rama said.

Still, he wishes that IATF and DOH will not only rely on the World Health Organization in assessing the COVID-19 pandemic moving forward.  – Le Phyllis F. Antojado, Decemay P. Padilla, JMO (FREEMAN)