INTERIOR Secretary Eduardo Año yesterday said charges might be filed against Cebu Gov. Gwendolyn Garcia if she insists on the continued implementation of her order making optional the wearing of face masks in well-ventilated and open spaces in the province amid the continued threat of the coronavirus disease (COVID-19).
“I’m actually consulting with my legal team,” said Año, a key member of the Inter-Agency Task Force for the Management of Emerging and Infectious Diseases (IATF). “If she will not recall it (order), she will be defiant and (and will) cause confusion and there will be a surge (in COVID-19 cases) because of this, we have many options.”
Año said Garcia can be held liable under Republic Act 3019 or the Anti-Graft and Corrupt Practices Act.
“We have existing laws which we can invoke if one will insist on enforcing an EO that lacks legal basis,” he said.
The DILG and provincial government of Cebu are at odds over the implementation of Executive Order No. 16 issued by Garcia which eased the province’s face mask mandate in well-ventilated and open spaces and limiting its use only in closed and crowded places.
The national government, on the other hand, mandates the use of the protective covering when people are in public places, except when they are eating during specific sports and other activities.
Earlier on Tuesday, Garcia said she is not recalling Executive Order No. 16 that allows the optional use of face masks outdoors.
She again lashed at national officials for saying Cebu residents will be arrested if they are caught not wearing face masks as she reiterated that the province of Cebu has no existing regulation sanctioning people who do not wear their masks.
“If there is no law to back up such an arrest, that becomes an illegal arrest. Here in the province of Cebu, there is no penal sanctions for the non-wearing of mask, we give them mask but we do not penalize them with apprehension,” said Garcia.
“If they conduct arrests in the province of Cebu… they face possible charges of illegal arrest. We are a nation of laws, not of men who order PNP to make apprehensions,” she added.
Año said Garcia’s order is “defective,” it “lacks legal basis,” and is contradictory to national policies and regulations, particularly the guidelines set by the IATF which are enabled by President Duterte’s executive orders.
Citing a statement from Justice Secretary Menardo Guevarra, Año said: “Between an IATF resolution and an executive order of the local government, the IATF resolution shall prevail.
So, her executive order is invalid, it lacks legal basis.”
Communications Secretary and acting presidential spokesman Martin Andanar echoed the statements of Guevarra and Año , saying that the directive of President Duterte was to continue wearing face masks as an added protection against COVID-19.
“The Chief Executive’s directive is clear: Continue wearing face masks, and the Department of the Interior and Local Government has instructed the Philippine National Police to implement the existing IATF resolution on wearing of face masks, accordingly,” he said, adding that the President has said that the proper wearing of face masks shall remain until the end of his term.
Año said the provincial council should have also passed an ordinance prior to Garcia’s issuance of the executive order. “It’s like putting the cart before the horse,” he said.
For now, Año said the DILG is not taking any legal action against Garcia because he is confident that the issue can still be resolved through a dialogue.
Meanwhile, PNP officer-in-charge Lt. Gen. Vicente Danao Jr. has ordered the relief of Cebu provincial police director Col. Engelbert Soriano amid the continuing face-off between the national government and the provincial government of Cebu.
PNP director for operations Maj. Gen. Valeriano de Leon said: “There was a decision from the higher headquarters to relieve him (Soriano). He is occupying the position for some time now. It was a decision made by the officer-in-charge (Danao) to remove him.”
PNP spokeswoman Col. Jean Fajardo said Soriano’s relief took effect last Sunday, or two days after Soriano posted a message on social media that Garcia’s executive order “remains the law.”
Fajardo did not explicitly say if Soriano’s relief was due to his position on the face mask issue but said that the move was pursuant to a PNP memorandum which says that provincial directors and police chiefs in Metro Manila shall serve for only one year.
She said the term can be extended up to three years, subject to the approval of the PNP chief.
“This is for career advancement and to give greater opportunity to other qualified third level PCOs (police commission officers),” she added.
“Police Colonel Soriano served as PD, CPPO (provincial director, Cebu provincial police office) for more than one year,” added Fajardo.
EASE PROTOCOLS
Sen. Juan Edgardo Angara yesterday said the IATF should allow the wearing of face masks outdoors optional like in the United States and most countries in Europe.
Angara said that while authorities are bound to implement the IATF’s guidelines, the government should also weigh the benefits to the economy of easing up restrictions.
“Why is the IATF still requiring masks outdoors? All over the world masks are no longer required outdoors. Why do we still have such a policy to begin with? Doesn’t science already support the proposition that there is much less risk catching the virus in an outdoor setting?” Angara said.
Angara said easing restrictions on the use of face masks will help spur the country’s battered economy.
“In crowded spaces okay to still require masks. Sa (In) Europe and US, wala nang (there is no more) mandatory wearing of masks outdoors. That’s why the US economy has rebounded and produced over a million jobs in the last few months,” he said. — With Jocelyn Montemayor and Raymond Africa
