Press Secretary Trixie Cruz Angeles said that President Bongbong Marcos has verbally approved the IATF recommendation making face mask use ‘optional’ in outdoor areas.
Angeles, however, said that the public needs to wait for an executive order before it can be implemented.
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“The very reason why we are having this presscon and initially incoming the public of this was because there was this verbal approval from the President when they talked with Sec. Benhur (Abalos) from DILG,” health department officer-in-charge Ma. Rosario Vergeire told said in a press briefing.
“But, it’s stated in the IATF Resolution No. 1, Series of 2022… that the IATF has resolved to recommend to the president, and that the president will issue an executive order regarding this policy,” Vergeire added.
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Angeles said that mask wearing will only be optional in non-crowded outdoor spaces. Senior citizens and the elderly are still required to wear masks.
Vergeire said local government units must intensify their booster campaign to further reopen the economy.
