Don’t abuse ‘no monetary penalty’ policy in face masks, province residents told

FACE MASKS | Stock Photo from Unsplash.com

CEBU CITY, Philippines – The newly installed Cebu Provincial Police Office (CPPO) director urged residents in the province not to abuse the new directives from the governor that scraps monetary penalties for those not wearing face masks.

“If they continue not to wear face masks in public after they’ve been given one, we will warn them,” said Police Colonel Engelbert Soriano on Monday, April 26, 2021 during a press briefing.

On Monday, the Department of Social Welfare and Development in Central Visayas (DSWD-7) turned over 3 million pieces of face masks to the Cebu Provincial Government.

During the same ceremony, the Capitol said it will be distributing these face masks to all police stations in the province with the  instruction to give these free to individuals caught not wearing face masks outside their houses.

Governor Gwendolyn Garcia recently issued a memorandum to all mayors belonging to Cebu province, telling them to junk fines as punishment for those not wearing face masks in public areas.

Garcia, in earlier interviews, said monetary penalties are ‘anti-poor’, saying these policies are ‘added burden especially to those who cannot afford to buy face masks frequently’, and that they could also be prone to abuse.

As a result, the governor suggested to local chief executives to implement other means of punishment such as seminars and lectures.

She also offered the Capitol’s stocks of face masks to be handed out to police stations so enforcers can instead give free face masks instead of apprehending those violating the mandatory wearing of face masks in public, and asking them for fines.

Fines for failure to wear face masks in public areas in Cebu province range from P200 to P500. /bmjo

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