Job Manahan, ABS-CBN News
President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. said his government may consider making wearing face masks optional when it is already safe to do so, just as he vowed to no longer enforce strict and wide lockdowns under his administration, a press release on Saturday showed.
Marcos, who has tested positive for COVID-19, also emphasized the importance of ramping up the country's booster uptake, especially for children, as his government plans to fully allow the resumption of in-person classes this year.
"The government may consider relaxing the alert level and make masking optional," a statement from the Presidential News Desk read.
“Pero hindi po natin gagawin ’yan hanggang maliwanag na maliwanag na safe na talaga. Dahil although so far maganda naman ang takbo, hindi naman napupuno ang mga ospital. Ngunit kung hindi tayo maingat, mapupunta na naman tayo doon.”
No other details were immediately available.
Marcos issued the statement during his virtual message to mayors and governors on Friday while he was still in isolation.
So far, only the provincial government of Cebu has ordered making anti-virus masks optional in open spaces, drawing the ire of the Department of the Interior Government and the Department of Health during the last days of the Duterte administration.
Mask-wearing in Cebu, however, is still necessary in closed areas and places of mass gathering.
The Philippines has seen a slight rise in new COVID-19 cases amid the presence of more transmissible omicron variants.
More details to follow.
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