ILOILO City – Wearing a facemask in public is the most sensible thing to do at this time when nobody can be certain if they are carrying the virus that causes the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19).
Some people with COVID-19 are asymptomatic (not showing symptoms), Undersecretary Jonathan
Malaya of the Department of Interior and Local Government pointed out during a teleconference with Western Visayas journalists.
He thus urged all local government units (LGUs) – provinces, cities and municipalities – to have ordinances making the wearing of facemask in public mandatory.
“Hindi po natin sinasabi na kailangan bilhin nila sa tindahan ang facemask. It can be improvised, do-it-yourself. Ang importante mayroong facemask,” said Malaya.
LGUs having ordinances on the mandatory use of facemask will provide another legal basis in the government’s effort to contain COVID-19, Malaya added.
In Western Visayas, the provincial governments of Iloilo, Guimaras and Negros Occidental and the cities of Bacolod and Iloilo have made mandatory the wearing of facemask in public through either provincial ordinances or executive orders of city mayors.
In Iloilo City, Mayor Jerry Treñas said facemask covering the nose and mouth of the wearer prevents droplets expelled when coughing or sneezing from infecting others.
The facemask could be but not necessarily limited to cloth masks, surgical masks and other
similar forms, he added.
Violators of his facemask executive order “shall be required to go home or to secure a face
mask.”
They may also be slapped with sanctions such as but not limited to reprimand and/or the filing of appropriate charges pursuant to Republic Act 11332 (Mandatory Reporting of Notifiable Diseases and Health Events of Public Health Concern Act) and other applicable laws./PN
