Senator Risa Hontiveros on Thursday, November 3, said school authorities should be allowed to decide whether or not they should let the wearing of face mask in schools voluntary.

Hontiveros reiterated her belief that the wearing of face masks is still the best defense against Covid-19 as she weighed on the Marcos government's plan to make the use of face masks now optional.

"Walang mawawala kung magmamask ang mga bata sa school (There is nothing to lose if children wear masks in school)," Hontiveros said in a statement.

"Getting our kids back to the classrooms is an important part of addressing our education crisis. It has taken us almost 3 years to open up our schools. Tungkulin nating panatilihing ligtas ang mga bata sa ating paaralan at pataasin ang kumpiyansa ng magulang sa pagpapanatiling bukas ang mga paaralan (It is our duty to keep children safe in our schools and increase parent confidence in keeping schools open)," she said.

Even though the voluntary wearing of face mask can be aligned to the government's national policy due to the limitations and challenges that schools face, especially public schools, Hontiveros said the government should let school officials decide on the matter.

"We strongly encourage that schools be given flexibility in adopting optional facemask policies as part of their safety protocols and mechanism," she said.

"Pinapaalalahanan natin ang publiko na ang pagsusuot ng facemask, ang pagpapabukana o pagpapa-booster ay subok ng pamamaraan para makaiwas sa malubhang COVID-19 infection at hospitalization (We remind the public that wearing a facemask, getting vaccinated or getting a booster is a proven method to avoid serious COVID-19 infection and hospitalization)," the lawmaker pointed out.

"Napakamahal magpa-ospital at mas maigi mag-face mask (It's very expensive to go to the hospital and that it's better to wear a face mask)," she reiterated.