PRESIDENT Rodrigo Duterte is still reviewing an executive order (EO) calling for nationwide smoking ban, a Palace official said on Saturday.
“There is no specific date yet on when the executive order on the smoking ban will be signed,” presidential spokesman Ernesto Abella said in a statement.
“Let us give the President the time to review the EO with due diligence,” he added.
Agriculture Secretary Emmanuel Piñol last month said the President would sign the EO as announced by Duterte himself during a Cabinet meeting.
Under the EO, smoking indoors could be prohibited, aside from public places, the Palace said.
Duterte earlier asked Health Secretary Paulyn Ubial to draft the executive order calling for a smoking ban.
Davao City, where Duterte was mayor for more than two decades, has been implementing a total smoking ban in public places.
