Metro Manila (CNN Philippines, September 13) — A member of the OCTA Research group has called for the dropping of the face mask mandate among students as face-to-face classes resumed.

"Our children have suffered for two years. Nearly one of the longest in the whole world of a lockdown without school. So now they have returned not to face-to-face, people say it’s face-to-face, they have returned to mask-to-mask education. We must move from mask-to-mask to real face-to-face for our children," OCTA Research fellow Fr. Nicanor Austriaco told an online forum on Tuesday.

Austriaco shared an analysis by US-based health policy expert Dr. Leana Wen, who said the use of face masks is disadvantageous to children. He said that according to Wen, the wearing of face masks affected the language development of her child.

The Department of Health (DOH), however, thinks otherwise.

"'Yung mask na 'yan [That mask] doesn't hurt our children. It protects our children from infections," DOH officer-in-charge Ma. Rosario Vergeire said in a briefing.

Parents are highly encouraged to have their children wear face masks when going to school since "these are simple sacrifices for us to further protect our children," she added.

For OCTA Research fellow Guido David, the optional wearing of face masks among children may only be done when in open areas, as "it should not pose a high risk even if masks are optional."

"But of course, we expect students to wear face masks in classrooms," he told CNN Philippines.

On Monday, President Ferdinand "Bongbong" Marcos Jr. signed the order making the use of face masks optional in open spaces. However, the wearing of face masks is still "highly encouraged" for those not yet fully vaccinated, the elderly, and those with weak immune systems.

CNN Philippines correspondent AC Nicholls contributed to this report.

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