This was what Negros Occidental Provincial Administrator Atty. Rayfrando Diaz II said on the recommendation of the National Inter- Agency Task Force for the Management of Emerging Infectious Diseases (IATF-EID) to make the use of face masks outdoor voluntary.
Diaz said the provincial government is waiting for the EO of President Ferdinand “Bongbong” Marcos Jr. regarding the wearing of face mask rules.
The province cannot impose strict ways of wearing facemasks if the national government will no longer impose it, he pointed out.
“Whatever our opinions are is now in the voluntary realm of our decision making,” the official said.
Personally, Diaz agrees with the position of Governor Eugenio Jose Lacson that wearing face masks in public helps people a lot in preventing coronavirus disease (Covid-19) infections.
He noted that in Japan, when one rides the train, especially during rush hours, everyone still wears face masks.
For his part, Lacson said he will appeal to senior citizens and immunocompromised persons to continue wearing face masks.
Malacañang announced Wednesday that the government’s pandemic task force has recommended to the President to make mask wearing voluntary in outdoor settings.
It has reportedly got a verbal approval of Marcos.*