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Align local Covid face mask guidelines with national law, Abalos orders LGUs

Philippines | National

Align local Covid face mask guidelines with national law, Abalos orders LGUs

By Chito Chavez

Department of the Interior and Local Government (DILG) Secretary Benjamin “Benhur’ Abalos Jr. issued a memorandum circular (MC) directing the local government units (LGUs), including the barangays, to amend their ordinances or issuances pertaining to the voluntary wearing of face masks outdoors.

Abalos said the memorandum, dated Oct. 4, aims to harmonize the non-obligatory wearing of face mask regulations with the President’s executive order pursuant to Section of the said EO.

“They (LGUs) are also tasked with communicating this policy (EO No. 3) with their constituents,’’ Abalos stressed.

Abalos also directed the Philippine National Police (PNP) “to internally disseminate this EO and note the same in the enforcement of local health protocols.’’

He told the local chief executives (LCEs), DILG Regional Directors, Bangsamoro Autonomous Region for Muslim Mindanao (BARMM) Minister of the Interior and Local Government and other concerned agencies “that EO No. 3 shall not be construed as a renunciation of minimum public health standards (MPHS).

Further, Abalos emphasized that these standards coupled with the applicable Alert Level guidelines as mandated by the Inter-Agency Task Force for the Management of Emerging Infectious Diseases (IATF-MEID) shall strictly be enforced.

The DILG chief ordered the DILG regional Directors to immediately disseminate the information of the MC to the widest scope of their LGUs of their respective jurisdictions.

But, the Department of Health (DOH) noted that it still prefers the public to wear face masks in open spaces despite their voluntary use outdoors. (Chito A. Chavez)

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DILG Benhur Abalos

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