MANILA, Philippines — In Mandaluyong City, a man who was seen walking the streets without a face mask received not a beating but a free face mask from an Army reservist.
A photo of the uniformed personnel’s kind act was shown in a Facebook post of the Mandaluyong City Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Office on Wednesday.
“Sinita ng isang Army reservist na naka-deploy sa Barangay Addition Hills ang isang lalaki na kamakailan ay nahuling naglalakad sa kalsada na walang suot na face mask. Pagkatapos ito pagsabihan at bigyan ng babala na kailangan na ang pagsusuot ng face mask sa publiko, ay binigyan ito ng libreng face mask,” read the caption.
(An Army reservist deployed at Barangay Addition Hills called the attention of a man who was recently seen walking in the streets without wearing a face mask. After the former reminded him that wearing a face mask in public places is necessary, he gave him a free face mask.)
Wearing of face masks in public places is required in Mandaluyong City, based on City Ordinance Number 759 Series of 2020 signed by Mayor Carmelita “Menchie” Abalos on April 8.
On Monday, local authorities in Quezon City reportedly from the Office of the Mayor’s Task Force Disiplina beat and dragged fish vendor Michael Rubuia who was not wearing a face mask while selling along the sidewalk in Barangay South Triangle.
The incident was captured in a video that circulated in social media, showing men carrying Rubuia to an L300 van while another man held a wooden stick and kept hitting him as he did not want to come with them.
A “full-blown” investigation has been launched by the Quezon City government on the matter.
“Any person found to have acted unlawfully or improperly shall be prosecuted to the fullest extent of the law,” the local government said in a statement on Tuesday.
JPV