MANILA, Philippines (Updated 3:06 p.m.) — President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. has signed an executive order making face masks voluntary in outdoor settings, Malacañang announced Monday.
Press Secretary Trixie Cruz-Angeles said Executive Order 3 will take effect immediately.
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The order states that voluntary wearing of masks in open spaces and non-crowded outdoor areas with good ventilation is allowed.
However, those who are not fully vaccinated against COVID-19, senior citizens, and immunocompromised individuals are “highly encouraged” to wear masks and observe physical distancing at all times.
People should still wear face masks in indoor establishments, including public transportation, and in outdoor settings where physical distancing cannot be maintained.
Under the order, the Department of Health is directed to update the guidelines on minimum public health standards (MPHS).
The DOH and the government’s pandemic task force may submit recommendations for further adjustments in the MPHS, including the liberalization of indoor mask requirements, should the indicators for monitoring the status of COVID-19, such as vaccination rates and improvement in COVID-19 booster coverage, warrant the same.
“We’re doing this in phases so that we can have feedback on whether or not these new policies are working and how to make them more efficient so that hopefully, by the end of the year, we might be able to voluntarily mask indoors as well,” Cruz-Angeles said.
She said the chief executive eased the mask mandate as the Philippines is “6% away from [attaining] the wall of immunity.”
DOH’s position
Undersecretary Maria Rosario Vergeire, officer-in-charge of the DOH, said the position of the agency was to keep the mask mandate even outdoors.
“But during the IATF meeting, several [pieces of] evidence were presented by other sectors,” Vergeire said Monday during a House panel hearing on the department’s proposed budget for next year.
“So we did that compromise whereby we agreed that masking outdoors will be lifted only among low-risk individuals and in low-risk settings. This means masking will be optional for those who are not vulnerable,” she said, noting the relaxed rule should not apply to senior citizens, those with underlying medical conditions, children, and passengers of public transport.
More than 72 million Filipinos have completed vaccination against COVID-19. However, only 18 million people have gotten boosters.
The Philippines has confirmed 3.9 million COVID-19 cases, with over 62,000 deaths, since the pandemic started in 2020.