San Juan City Mayor Francis Zamora said Monday (Aug. 17) that the local government only mandates residents to wear face masks when outside as the national government still has to issue the guidelines on the mandatory wearing of face shields.
“Sa ngayon, ang talagang mandated dito sa San Juan through ordinance ay ang pagsusuot ng face masks and physical distancing (Right now, what is really mandated here in San Juan through an ordinance is the wearing of face masks and physical distancing),” Zamora said.
“Ngayon kung maglabas na ng official guidelines, sasabayan po namin 'yan ng necessary ordinances para suportahan po through legislation 'yung mga patakaran at directibang ito (Now, if the official guidelines are released, we will accompany them with the necessary ordinances to support these policies and directives through legislation),” he added.
Zamora said the local government is still waiting for the guidelines of the Inter-Agency Task Force for the Management of Emerging Infectious Disease (IATF) for the implementation of mandatory wearing of face shields.
“We are just waiting for the IATF to release the official guidelines sapagkat ayaw naman po nating pangunahan ang IATF (because we do not want to preempt the IATF),” the mayor said.
The Departments of Transportation (DOTr), Labor and Employment (DOLE), and Trade and Industry (DTI) have recently issued memoranda requiring all passengers of public transports and office employees to wear face shields on top of their face masks.
Authorities said this aims to give people extra protection from coronavirus disease (COVID-19).
Zamora disclosed that the implementation on the mandatory wearing of face shield was also discussed at the recent Metro Manila Council meeting.
“Ang San Juan naman po ay laging sumusunod sa national directives. Kapag maglabas na po ng sariling guidelines ang IATF, ang San Juan naman po ay susunod diyan (San Juan always follows the directives of the national government. When the IATF issues its guidelines, San Juan will comply),” he said.