Senator Sonny Angara urged the national government and Cebu Governor Gwendolyn Garcia to hold a meeting to settle their differences on the enforcement of the mask mandate.
In an interview with One News on Wednesday night, Angara expressed his understanding of Garcia’s views on wearing a face mask as ‘optional’. He added that Cebu is a province that is dependent on tourism income.
“Naiintindihan ko ‘yung point ni [I understand the point of the] governor in trying to come up with a proactive policy regarding the wearing of masks. And may basis din naman ‘yun because ‘pag tiningnan mo [And it also has a basis because if you look at] all over the world, they’ve lifted the wearing of masks outdoors, optional na lang ‘yan [it’s just optional now],” he said.
On June 8, Garcia issued Executive Order (EO) 16 which made the wearing of face masks in open spaces and well-ventilated areas optional.
However, the EO still requires the wearing of face masks in closed and air-conditioned spaces, as well as among citizens who have COVID-19 symptoms.
While Angara understands the essence of wearing face masks in crowded places where physical distancing is not possible, he said that requiring it in open spaces seems a little outdated.
“But it seems it is the recommendation of our doctors in the IATF. I tried to ask around. Apparently, that is their recommendation. So, siguro kung mag-dialogue na lang ‘yung dalawang parties [So, maybe if the two parties will just engage in dialogue] and maybe the DILG (Department of the Interior and Local Government) can say, ‘Well, we won’t be so strict enforcing it, especially when there is little risk of contagion like just one person is walking on an empty street. Ia-aresto mo pa ba ‘yun? Hindi na siguro, ‘di ba? [Will you still arrest that person? Maybe not anymore, right?] … Let common sense prevail,” Angara explained.
Angara underlined that common sense can prevail given that the incoming administration will have a chance to revisit and reexamine the policy.
The Department of Interior and Local Government (DILG) and the Department of Health (DOH) both repudiated Garcia’s mandate, stressing that local governments should abide by the guidelines mandated by the Inter-Agency Task Force (IATF) as approved by the President.
DILG Undersecretary Epimaco Densing III earlier said that they will send a show-cause order to Garcia if her mandate on the wearing of face masks in Cebu will remain unaligned with the mandate issued by the national government.
Photo Credit: Facebook/sonnyangara
