A few months ago, Quezon City Mayor Joy Belmonte signed Executive Order No. 25, Series of 2020. The ordinance required residents to wear any form of face mask in public places, and indicated that violators will be apprehended and penalized.

Recently, however, questions on how long a person can take off their masks in order to eat and drink in the area to avoid being apprehended have been raised… after reports of Howie Severino being arrested made rounds on social media earlier today, July 8.

Earlier today, photojournalist Luis Liwanag reported that the journalist and COVID-19 survivor was apprehended for pulling down his mask to take a drink. He was one of the hundreds of people who were brought to Amoranto Stadium for a short seminar on the proper use of face masks in public.

Severino also posted about his experience on Facebook, where he explained that he and his companions only pulled down their masks to drink water and that they maintained at least four feet distance from each other while doing so. He was apprehended before he could pull his mask back up after he returned his bottle to the store, and was told by law enforcers that they were bringing him for a seminar at Amoranto Stadium for talking without a mask on.

Upon arriving at Amoranto Stadium, Severino explained to the employees there that he was a recovered patient who tested negative three times since he was discharged from the hospital.

Severino added that he also followed safety procedures such as isolation and quarantine until he was declared a recovered patient. He also wrote about his experience with the virus and donated plasma for gravely ill patients.

In the comments section of Liwanag’s post and his own statement, Severino said that he was allowed to go home after he explained his situation to the employees at the stadium. The journalist even offered to give a talk at the seminar.

Header photo courtesy of Jilson Tiu

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