President Duterte has asked Filipinos to heed his advice to keep on following health protocols against the coronavirus disease (COVID-19), including the wearing of face shields, because they voted for him to be the country's leader in the first place.
Duterte made the statement amid the rising number of COVID-19 cases in the country.
In his pre-recorded public address on Monday, August 9, the President acknowledged that wearing face shields was inconvenient but said the public should just follow his advice to be on the safer side.
"Sundin lang ninyo ako, tutal binoto ninyo akong presidente, milyon-milyon ang nag-like sa akin, ika nga (Just follow me, after all you elected me as your president, millions liked me)," he said.
"It's an advice I'm giving you because I love you as a Filipino," he added.
President Duterte had approved an earlier recommendation to do away with the face shields but immediately restored the policy due to the threat of the more contagious Delta variant.
In his public address on Monday, the President said the government decided to keep the face shield policy because it was still unknown how one can get infected by the disease aside from through the nose and eyes.
"The problem is, we really do not know how the infection would enter the body," he said.
"Pag nahawakan ng may COVID tapos nahawakan mo, then you rub your eyes, then yun papasok ang COVID. At least yung may , hindi mo magalaw ang mata mo-- yung may plastic shield (If you touch something that was touched by a person with COVID-19 and then you rub your eyes, then you will get the virus. At least if you have the shield, you cannot touch your eyes)," he added.
Duterte urged the public to get vaccinated as it will not allow the virus to prosper in one's body. He likewise reminded them to keep their distance from other people, and even telling them to "run away" if they have to.
He added that people should not feel bad about washing their hands in public, even after shaking someone else's hand.
"If you have to do it, just do it for the simple reason that it's one of the protection measures that government is requiring you to do," Duterte said.
"It is not discourteous, nowadays, to wash your hands with alcohol in public after shaking hands... It's not parang bastos (disrespectful) because that is really a measure that is needed by the times," he added.