Interior Secretary Benhur Abalos: “Probably by the end of this week we will come out with this issue”
BENHUR ABALOS — Interior Secretary Benjamin “Benhur” Abalos said that Cebu City’s voluntary face mask policy is now up to the decision of the IATF.
The Interior Secretary said that it’s time to move on from the issue of volunmtary face masks in Cebu City.
This, as he has already raised the matter to the Inter-Agency Task Force for the Management of Emerging Infectious Diseases (IATF-MEID) following the “miscommunication” with Cebu City Mayor Michael Rama.
According to him, while he’s open to dialogue with Mayor Rama, the face mask policy is now up to the decision of the IATF.
“I can’t understand what he is saying. I don’t want to have communication so it’s better to just move on. Anyway, all the mayors, all of us we want something good for our constituency,” he said in an interview on CNN Philippines.
The Inter-Agency Task Force for the Management of Emerging Infectious Diseases is the main policy-making body of the national government in its COVID-19 pandemic response.
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Abalos earlier admitted that there’s a miscommunication with Mayor Rama, who said that the voluntary face mask policy will continue despite the guidance from the Interior Secretary.
He also said that while he respected the autonomy and authority of local government units (LGUs), he noted that government officials should still heed national policies in order to address the coronavirus pandemic.
The Interior Secretary added that the IATF is expected to settle the issue on voluntary face masks once and for all by the end of the week.
Abalos also said that voluntary face mask policy in outdoor spaces is carefully being studied by the IATF, especially since Myanmar and the Philippines are the last two ASEAN countries with strict face mask mandates.
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