CEBU CITY — The Inter-Agency Task Force for the Management of Emerging Infectious Diseases (IATF) recommendation to make the use of face mask in open areas optional is a reaffirmation of the policies in Cebu province, Gov. Gwendolyn Garcia said on Friday, Sept. 9.

Garcia welcomed the recommendation that she said is a “balancing act between livelihood and health.”

"I am just so grateful that finally, Cebu's policies are now being reaffirmed by the IATF," Garcia said on the sidelines of a public event that she attended.

She said that the recommendation is some sort of vindication for the province.

"As the past two years have shown, I guess we have always did it the right way. Sometimes we were the lone voice, we were labeled as mavericks, but in the end, I guess our groundbreaking and visionary policies were proven right."

Garcia had clashed with the IATF when she issued an Executive Order (EO) last June that made the wearing of face masks in open places optional.

The IATF recommendation could be an indication that Cebu province and the IATF will have a better relationship in terms of coming up with Covid-19 policies, Garcia said.

"And I think, however bumpy our relationship (with IATF) may have been in the past, I think we are in for smooth sailing under the new composition of the IATF," Garcia said.

She emphasized the need to come up with measures that will protect the public from Covid-19 without compromising livelihood.

"Because I can see that, like us here in Cebu, we really need to do a balancing act between protecting the health and safety of our constituents and the same considering and giving utmost importance to the livelihoods of our people,” Garcia said.

"It is not one or the other because lives need livelihood. And livelihood can give better lives.”