THE Department of Health (DOH) on Friday, September 2, 2022, expressed concerns over the possibility of Cebu City setting a bad precedent in refusing to adhere to the protocols set by the national government in regard to the coronavirus disease (Covid-19) response.In a press conference, DOH Officer-in-Charge Maria Rosario Vergeire said they are concerned that other local government units (LGUs) will follow the example of Cebu City in refusing to follow guidelines set by the Inter-Agency Task Force on Emerging Infectious Diseases (IATF-EID).”That’s one of our worries. If such action of one LGU stays, other LGUs may follow suit. That would be disastrous for all of us,” Vergeire said.”Imagine if one or two or three LGUs will implement differing protocols, what will happen to us if the virus crosses borders?” she furthered.Vergeire cited as an example the mask policy of Cebu City, which is already declared as non-mandatory.”We are required (by the IATF-EID) to wear masks all the time. That’s part of our minimum public health standards. What happened is they (Cebu City) made masking voluntary. It is non-obligatory to wear face masks,” she said.”This is opposed to resolution and protocols approved by the IATF-EID and implemented by the national government,” she added.Because of this, the health official renewed the DOH’s call for Cebu City to rescind its mask policy and instead adhere to the national government’s directives.”All of us are hoping that we come to a time that we will be removing our masks and have more unrestricted activities,” she said.”But while we are still working on that, we hope that we will be united. Let us try to implement (the IATF-EID policy) and have a one-nation approach. We cannot just think of our area right now. We need to think of the entire population,” added Vergeire.She also said existing laws require LGUs to follow national policies on Covid-19.”It has to be recognized that we have existing laws in the country. And these laws were enacted specifically to establish a one chain of command during public health emergencies,” she said.”During this time of public health emergencies, the local governments are ordered by law to follow the protocols of the national government,” added Vergeire.On Wednesday, Mayor Michael Rama issued an executive order (EO) that made the wearing of face masks “non-obligatory” in Cebu City.On Thursday, Rama shrugged off criticisms, including those from the DOH, saying EO No. 5 will remain effective since it was already signed. (HDT/SunStar Philippines)