Cortes to consult Local Health Board on Gwen’s face mask policy

By: Mary Rose Sagarino - CDNDigital Correspondent | June 18,2022 - 09:16 AM

Photo for Mandaue City Mayor Jonas Cortes for story:Cortes to consult Local Health Board on Gwen's face mask policy

Mandue City Mayor Jonas Cortes. | Mary Rose Sagarino

MANDAUE CITY, Philippines- Mandaue City Mayor Jonas Cortes will convene members of the Local Health Board next week to discuss Governor Gwendolyn Garcia’s policy on the optional wearing of face masks in open spaces.

Cortes said he does not have a problem with Garcia’s Executive Order on the rationalized wearing of face masks especially since the COVID-19 cases here have already decreased.  However, he wanted to first consult the local health board on the matter.

“Mopahibaw mi kung unsa gyud atoang stand sa dakbayan sa Mandaue,” said Cortes.

Garcia signed Executive Order No. 16 which mandates the optional wearing of face masks in open spaces.  The Cebu Provincial Board also unanimously passed an ordinance on the optional wearing of face masks.

However, Interior and Local Government Secretary Eduardo Año said the national government does not recognize the ordinance, reiterating that it was defective and lacks legal basis.

READ: Año gives Cebu gov’t until weekend to ‘rectify’ face mask rule

On Thursday, Año said he is giving the Cebu provincial government three days to amend the ordinance.

Cortes said the local chief executives know more about the situation on the ground.

He added that Cebu province and the highly urbanized cities here defer in their COVID-19 situations.

With this in mind, Cortes said, he wanted to consult the Local Health Board before making an official stand on the Governor’s EO.

Mandaue City, he said, has a face mask ordinance that remains in effect.

Ordinance No. 15 -2020-1531 penalizes those who are caught not wearing face masks in public places. They are asked to pay a fine of P5,000.

Cortes said he will also speak with his counterparts in the cities of Cebu and Lapu-Lapu since the tri-cities have a reciprocity agreement.

Earlier, Atty. Joel Seno, head of the Mandaue City’ Council’s committee on laws, said the ordinance was not strictly implemented. Apprehension were discouraged.  Instead of imposing fines, violators are educated and given a face mask.

RELATED STORIES

Cebu province unfazed by DILG ultimatum 

Cebu province stands ground on rationalizing use of face masks, challenges DILG to show proof on legal basis

/dcb

Your subscription could not be saved. Please try again.
Your subscription has been successful.

Subscribe to our daily newsletter

By providing an email address. I agree to the Terms of Use and acknowledge that I have read the Privacy Policy.

Read Next

Disclaimer: The comments uploaded on this site do not necessarily represent or reflect the views of management and owner of Cebudailynews. We reserve the right to exclude comments that we deem to be inconsistent with our editorial standards.

TAGS: Cebu Daily News, cebu news, face mask, Gwen Garcia, Jonas Cortes, Mandaue City

We use cookies to ensure you get the best experience on our website. By continuing, you are agreeing to our use of cookies. To find out more, please click this link.