Police Lieutenant Colonel Franco Rudolf Oriol, MCPO deputy city director for operations and spokesperson. | screengrab from CDN Digital video (FILE PHOTO)
MANDAUE CITY, Philippines —The Mandaue City Police Office (MCPO) continues to follow the guidelines of the Inter-Agency Task Force for the Management of Emerging Infectious Diseases (IATF) regarding face mask policy.
Police Lieutenant Colonel Franco Rudolf Oriol, MCPO deputy city director for operations and spokesperson, said they were still following the IATF guidelines, especially since Mandaue City Mayor Jonas Cortes had not released any new order regarding this issue.
“Katung previous instruction nila (IATF) mao gihapon amo sundon. Wala pa sad nipagawas og kamanduan si Mayor. Kung unsa may nakalagda sa IATF we (MCPO) will follow,” said Oriol.
(Their previous instruction (IATF), that is what we will follow. The mayor has not also issued an order. What is written by the IATF, we (MCPO) will follow.)
Oriol said they would continue to conduct roving and remind residents to wear a face mask.
The city has an ordinance penalizing anyone caught not wearing a face mask in public places. Under Ordinance No. 15 -2020-1531, violators will be fined P5,000.
Since the city’s policy is an ordinance only the Sangguniang Panlungsod can amend it.
City Councilor Joel Seno, chairman of the Committee on Laws, said currently, they did not have a plan to amend the ordinance.
“We are only talking about the legality of the ordinance within the city, the question is whether or not we will implement it, as of now, it’s still a good law and is still being implemented by the city,” said Seno.
Seno said, though, that the ordinance was not strictly implemented and that apprehension had been discouraged.
He said violators should be educated and given a face mask.
Oriol said violators would only be warned and turned over to the barangays if they were minors.
The committee on laws chairman said they might consider amending it in the future, if the COVID-19 situation in the city would further improve.
Governor Gwendolyn Garcia has issued Executive Order No. 16, making the wearing of face masks in open spaces optional which was adopted and passed into an ordinance by the Cebu Provincial Board (PB).
DILG Secretary Eduardo Año said that the national government would not recognize the ordinance, reiterating that it was defective and had no legal basis.
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