DILG gives Cebu gov't until weekend to correct EO on face mask

Department of the Interior and Local Government Secretary Eduardo Año said Thursday that the Cebu provincial government has only until this weekend to rectify the controversial executive order on the optional wearing of face mask.

Earlier, Cebu Governo Gwen Garcia issued Executive Order No. 16 stating that wearing of face mask shall be required only in closed and air-conditioned spaces in the province.

In a press conference, Año said he is mulling to file charges against Garcia over her  EO 16.

“Lahat ng options ay gagawin natin dito. Ito naman ay meron ring instructions ng Office of the President na we should seek all remedies at kung wala, we could also pursue legal actions,” he said.

(We will exhaust all options. The Office of the President has instructions that we should seek all possible remedies before pursuing legal actions.)

“Maybe over the weekend, we will give them the chance to rectify. After the weekend, we will do whatever is necessary. I’m consulting with my legal team and hindi pa namin ia-announce ngayon (we will not announce yet). We’ll just do what is legal and what is commensurate to that particular action of the Cebu provincial government,” he added.

Año reiterated that the provincial government has violated the Executive Order No. 151, series of 2021 regarding the Nationwide Implementation of the Alert Level System for COVID-19 Response and the guidelines enforced under it.

Following Garcia's issuance of EO 16, the Cebu provincial board passed

Garcia earlier said she does not recognize the resolution of the Inter-Agency Task Force of Emerging Infectious Diseases (IATF-EID) on the mandatory wearing of face masks as the law, claiming that the IATF guidelines “doesn’t carry the force of law. It is neither enacted by Congress, nor [does it have the force of an] Order signed by the President.”

But, Año said that the national government does not recognize the EO issued by Garcia.

“You’re causing [un]due injury to the government and to the people kasi nagkakaron ng confusion. In the process baka may maaksidente, baka may madisgrasya diyan (people might get into trouble because of the confusion) and you’re casting doubt on the image of the national government. That is the biggest injury,” he said.

Año insisted that wearing of face masks in Cebu is still mandatory amid the COVID-19 pandemic, and that violators risk police arrest.

For his part, Justice Secretary Menardo Guevarra said that the resolution of the IATF on the mandatory wearing of face masks shall prevail over executive orders issued by local government units.

Earlier, acting presidential spokesperson Martin Andanar stressed that wearing of masks and complying with minimum public health standards have keep the COVID-19 cases in the country low.

Also, the Department of Health has maintained that minimum public health standards including wearing the best fitting face mask, together with vaccination and booster shot have helped keep our COVID-19 case counts low despite the detection of new Omicron subvariants. —LBG, GMA News