Easing of face mask rule draws mixed reactions in Davao region

FILE PHOTO: Davao City residents wearing face masks walk on a jetty for a trip to the beach on Samal Island. (Photo by BING GONZALES / Inquirer Mindanao)

DAVAO CITY — Although people in Davao del Sur have long been asking when they can finally do away with wearing masks, Davao del Sur Gov. Yvonne Cagas still viewed with caution the national government’s move to make face masks optional since the threats of the virus remained.

“If the national government already allowed us to unmask, we will follow, but we will continue to campaign for vaccination, especially among our most vulnerable population. We will also urge those who have completed their vaccination to take booster shots,” said Cagas, following reports that the national government will already make face masks optional in open spaces nationwide.

READ: Face mask to be optional when outdoors nationwide

She said that some sectors of the population in her area, among them the indigenous peoples and senior citizens, still refused to be vaccinated.

“Let us campaign hard to get ourselves boosters first and continue to observe minimum health protocols,” the governor said.

The business community in Davao City welcomed the national government’s move to make face masks optional in open spaces, saying that this will finally give the people the freedom and responsibility to decide what is good for them.

“The world has accepted the fact that COVID-19 can now be treated like an ordinary flu virus,” said Vicente Lao, chair of the Mindanao Business Council (MBC).

“I’m okay with loosening the face mask policy and give our people the freedom to decide,” said Arturo Milan, regional governor of the Philippine Chamber of Commerce and Industry (PCCI). “This is also a way to teach our people responsibility and to accept the consequence that may arise for whatever decision they will take.”

READ: Experts wary over eased face mask rule, warn of impact on anti-COVID vax drive

But for Dr. Maria Lourdes Monteverde, president of the Davao City Chamber of Commerce and Industry Inc. (DCCCII), there is a need to keep the delicate balance between economy and health.

“(While) all global and local businesses are now open (and w)e are trying to recover lost time and opportunities, we should (continue to) maintain health protocols especially in crowded areas,” Monteverde said. “We should not be complacent. COVID-19 is still here and we have to deal with how to go on with our lives and businesses at the same time living with COVID-19,” she said. “We strongly advise and encourage everyone, especially the high-risk sectors, to get their booster shots,” she added.

Stephen Antig, executive director of the Pilipino Banana Growers and Exporters Association (PBGEA), however, said he thought that masks should not yet be taken down because the virus that caused COVID-19 was still around.

“For me, it’s not right that we unmask because COVID-19 is still around,” he said.