The Department of Health (DOH) expressed concern that other local government units (LGUs) will also follow the move of Cebu City in making the wearing of face masks voluntary, saying that it would cause a negative impact in the country’s response against the Covid-19 pandemic.
DOH Officer-in-Charge Maria Rosario Vergeire reiterated that both the national government and LGUs should unite in implementing policies regarding Covid-19.
“That is one of our worries. Dahil alam natin kapag nagtuloy-tuloy ang mga ganitong mga actions ng local governments (Because we know that when these actions of local governments continue), other local governments may follow suit and that would be really disastrous for all of us,” said Vergeire during a press briefing on Friday, Sept. 2.
“Katulad nga ng sabi ko, kailangan one nation approach tayo. Kailangan nagkakaisa tayo (Like I said, we need a one nation approach. We need to unite) from the local governments up to the national level. Just imagine if one or two or three LGUs are implementing different protocols, what will happen to us when the virus crosses borders,” she added.
The DOH official said that the guidelines on face mask wearing by the Inter-Agency Task Force for the Management of Emerging Infectious Diseases (IATF-EID) is still in effect. The move of the Cebu City officials is “opposed” to the IATF-EID resolution.
“Nandoon sa resolution na kailangan (It is stated in the resolution)—we are required to wear our masks all the time. That is part of our minimum public health standards. So what happened here would be that they made masking voluntary kasi sinabi nila (as they stated that it is) non-obligatory. Ibig sabihin ang mga tao, maaaring gumamit or hindi gumamit nitong face mask (it means, people may or may not use face masks),” said Vergeire.
“Let me just reiterate that this is opposed to the resolution and the protocols that have been resolved at ipinapatupad ng ating (and being implemented by the) Interagency Task Force or the national government,” she added.
Vergeire noted that during this pandemic, “everybody has to be one” and “we need to think of the entire Filipino population.”
Vergeire also noted that there are existing laws that require LGUs to adhere to the policies set by the national government during this pandemic.
“We respect the autonomy of our local governments, we also respect and recognize na sila ang nakakaalam (that they are the ones who know)on the ground what is happening with their Covid-19 situation. But it has to be recognized also that we have existing laws in the country and these laws were enacted specifically para magkaroon ng one chain of command kapag may public health emergency tayo (to have one chain of command when we have a public health emergency),” the DOH OIC said.
“During this time of public health emergencies, the local governments are ordered diyan sa batas na iyan na kailangan sumusunod sila sa protocols ng national government (that they must follow the protocols of the national government),” she added.
“This is for public health and this is for the entire population. We are not just looking at one area of the country but we are looking at all areas and what the implications would be for each and every area of the country,” she furthered.
By easing the face mask rule, elderly people and children will be more at risk of contracting the Covid-19 virus, said Vergeire.
“Mas nagkakaroon tayo ng higher risk ngayon dahil pumasok na ang mga bata. We know that our children, five to 11 years old, ang atin pong vaccination rate nila ay nasa 40 plus percent palang. Ibig sabihin, marami pa rin sa ating mga kabataan ay hindi bakunado. And if you remove your mask mandate, you are making the children more vulnerable to these infections (There is a higher risk now because children are now going to school. We know that our children, five to 11 years old—the vaccination rate is at 40 plus percent. That means, many of our children are not yet vaccinated. And if you remove your mask mandate, you are making the children more vulnerable to these infections),” she said.
“We position na ang atin pong pagma-mask ay dapat mag stay pa din. Ang Kagawaran ng Kalusugan po ay nagsasabi at nagbibigay abiso sa ating mga kababayan na ang mask po ay nakakatulong at nakakaprotekta sa atin. Up to 70 to 80 percent ang atin pong proteksyon against the virus kung tayo po ay nagsusuot ng mask (Our position is that the masking rule should stay. The Department of Health is reiterating to our citizens that the mask provides protection. Our protection against the virus is up to 70 to 80 percent if we wear a mask),” she added.