THE Malacañang has refused to comment on the move of Cebu City Government to lift the mandatory use of face masks in open spaces in its areas of jurisdiction.“We respect the mandate of local governments over their own jurisdiction,” Press Secretary Trixie Cruz-Angeles said in a press conference on Wednesday, August 31, 2022.“The President has no reaction to this as of yet,” she added.On Wednesday morning, Cebu City Mayor Michael Rama issued an executive order making the wearing of face masks in the city “non-obligatory” or optional.Rama said among the factors they considered was the high percentage of vaccination rate and the downward trend of coronavirus disease (Covid-19) cases in the city.The Department of Health (DOH) and the Department of the Interior and Local Government (DILG) have yet to comment on the matter.In June, Cebu Governor Gwen Garcia has been under fire due to the issuance of EO 16, which makes the wearing of face masks in the province no longer mandatory, in contrast to the protocols set by then Inter-Agency Task Force to prevent the spread of Covid-19. (SunStar Philippines)