Tolentino tells DOH to augment face mask supplies in LGUs around Taal
By Dhel Nazario
At A Glance
- Senator Francis "Tol" Tolentino instructed the Department of Health (DOH) to redirect the supply of face masks to local government units (LGUs) and schools near Taal Volcano amid the presence of volcanic smog over Taal Lake.
Senator Francis “Tol” Tolentino instructed the Department of Health (DOH) to redirect the supply of face masks to local government units (LGUs) and schools near Taal Volcano amid the presence of volcanic smog over Taal Lake.
In his DZRH program on Saturday, Sept. 23, Tolentino spoke with Dr. Ariel Valencia, DOH regional director of Calabarzon, and asked him to coordinate with other DOH regional offices with a stockpile of face masks to facilitate the pre-positioning of supplies in the areas affected by smog and ‘vog.’
The lawmaker is anticipating the possible exploitation by unscrupulous individuals of the scarcity of face masks via the jacking up of the item's price.
Dr. Valencia said that Health Secretary Teodoro Herbosa has already issued a directive on Sept. 22 regarding the supply of face masks affected by the volcanic activity of Taal aside from standing protocol to always request from neighboring regions “if resources [are] needed.”
Tolentino said that the supplies of face masks the neighboring regions would provide to DOH Calabarzon could already be given for free to those in the areas affected by the activity of Taal Volcano.
He also expressed concern about the affected workers in the export processing zones in the provinces of Cavite, Batangas, and Laguna. He asked authorities to ensure that they would be given face masks, whether by the companies they are work for, the LGUs they belong to, or the DOH.