Pampanga to enforce face mask law among minors but parents to get punished

CITY OF SAN FERNANDO –– Parents or guardians will be made to stand in for the penalties of minors who violate the mandatory wearing of face masks and curfew in Pampanga province.

This was according to a draft resolution strengthening measures against the spread of the coronavirus disease (COVID-19).

Gov. Dennis Pineda said the upcoming resolution would sink more teeth into Ordinance No. 756 on the wearing of face masks and Executive Order No. 11-B on the 11 p.m.to 5 a.m. curfew.

The non-wearing of face masks carries a penalty of P20,000 to P50,000 or jail time of a month to six months or both. The breach of curfew is punished by community service.

“We will punish the parents or guardians instead because they are responsible for their young wards,” Pineda said.

He said those under 21 years old should stay at home during the quarantine periods.

He said the non-wearing of face masks is flagrantly violated by minors, especially in resettlement sites for Mt. Pinatubo survivors and informal settlers on rail tracks.

The provincial police reported arresting 1,392 persons who did not wear face masks in public from March 17 to July 12. INQ

LZB