Manila Mayor Francisco “Isko Moreno” Domagoso urged the government on Wednesday to reconsider and reevaluate its policy mandating the public to wear face shields as added protection against the COVID-19.
During his mayoral address, Domagoso said that the mandatory wearing of face shields should be reconsidered for the benefit of people adversely affected by the pandemic.
"Ako ay nananawagan sa mga ahensya ng gobyerno na nagtatala ng mga alituntunin na dapat na nating araling muli ang polisiya na kung saan ay nirerequire ang taong bayan na mag face shield sa general population or public places (I'm appealing to the concerned agencies of the government tasked in creating rules and policies to please study again the policy requiring the general public to wear face shields in public places)." Domagoso said.
"Kung yung tao eh hirap na sa buhay, kung wala namang siyentipikong pagpapatunay tungkol sa face shield eh baka pwede na natin itong rebisahin. Para sa ganoon ay makatulong tayong mabawasan ang gastusin ng bawat tao dahil ang face shield ho eh di naglalast nang matagal at every now and then eh bumibili ang mga tao (If the person is already having difficulties financially and if there's no scientific proof about the face shield, then maybe we can revise it already),” he added.
Domagoso said that even if face shields only cost around P10 to P20, it is still an added expenditure for a simple employee or someone living below the poverty line.
He said that another reason why he's urging the government to reconsider the policy is because elderly people are having difficulty in breathing due to the wearing of face shields on top of face masks.
"Kung maaaral ito nang mga siyentipiko, kasi tayo na lang sa buong mundo ang gumagamit ng face shield. Ang gusto ko ang face shield ay gamitin na lamang sa mga ospital. Kung ikaw ay pupunta sa ospital o nagtatrabaho sa ospital, dun nalang sya gamitin (If this could be studied again by scientists, because we are the only country in the world using face shields in public places. I would want to only use face shields in hospitals. If you're going to the hospital or working at the hospital, then that's the only time to use it)," Domagoso said.
"That is my call to the proper agency na sana silipin muli, aralin muli, desisyunan sa lalong madaling panahon kung kailangan pa ba natin pagastusin ang taong bayan sa face shield kung ito'y di naman kailangan katulad nang nangyayare sa iba’t ibang dako nang mundo na tayo na lamang ang gumagamit ng face shield sa general population sa public places, eh baka pwede na natin tong isantabi (That is my call to the proper agency to please revisit again, study it again, make a decision as soon as possible if it's still necessary to make the people spend on face shields even if it isn't needed just like in other countries)." he added.
The Inter Agency Task Force (IATF) passed on December 15 last year the policy mandating people to wear full face shields together with face masks to "effectively lessen the transmission of COVID-19."