MANILA, Philippines — Several senators on Tuesday questioned the rationale of mandating drivers and passengers of private vehicles to wear face masks regardless of whether they are from the same household, with one lawmaker quipping that policymakers are probably suffering from lack of sleep.
“Meron ba ditong makakapagsabi na sa ibang bansa na ito din ang nagiging regulasyon, dapat naka-mask ang mga miyembro ng pamilya sa loob ng sasakyan?” Senator Grace Poe, chair of the Senate public services committee, said during a hearing.
(Is there anyone here who can say that other countries have similar regulations, that family members should still wear face masks inside their vehicle?)
“Wala bang nagsabi sa IATF (Inter-Agency Task Force on Emerging Infectious Diseases) na medyo kalokohan naman itong suggestion na ‘to? Anong ibig sabihin? Paguwi mo sa bahay magkakasama pa rin kayo, naka-mask pa rin kayo dapat?” she asked.
(Did anyone say to the IATF how this suggestion does not make sense? Does this mean that even inside our homes, we should still wear a face mask?)
When she received no immediate response from transport officials present during the hearing, the senator said this policy’s discussion would probably not yield answers.
“Walang sagot, walang patutunguhan ‘tong discussion na ‘to dahil alam nating sa umpisa pa lang, malabo na talaga ito,” she added.
(No answers, this discussion will go nowhere because, from the start, this policy is already ambiguous.)
Senator Joel Villanueva echoed Poe’s sentiments and lamented that no official answered the latter’s questions.
“Nakakalungot na (It’s upsetting) we’re calling a hearing and then not a single government agency is aware of what we wanted to know and what we are looking for, for clarification,” Villanueva said.
“It is a very simple basic question: meron bang from DOTr (Department of Transportation), from the transport sector na kinonsult ang IATF?” he added.
(It is a straightforward basic question: is there anyone from the DOTr, from the transport sector, who the IATF consulted?)
Poe then turned to the Land Transportation Office (LTO), which the senator noted was the agency that issued the face mask’s guidelines.
But LTO Assistant Secretary Edgar Galvante said the agency only released the guidelines based on the IATF’s decision.
“Ito po ay batay sa pinalabas ng IATF sinusunod lang po natin. Hindi po ito independently LTO ang naglabas,” Galvante said.
(This is based on the policy of the IATF. This is not an independent decision of the LTO.)
Nevertheless, Poe said the LTO should have cautioned the IATF against such a policy.
‘Sleep on it’
For her part, Senator Imee Marcos urged both the IATF and the LTO to get some sleep and some rest so that they could come up with sound policies.
“Payuhan ko lang yung IATF at yung LTO baka talaga namang kailangan matulog na kayo at magpahinga kasi kasabay rin nito na walang katuturan ay yung sinasabi na government employees daw ay exempted from border protocols… biglang may double standard,” Marcos said, referring to another IATF decision exempting government personnel on official business from local government units’ testing and quarantine protocols.
(I have a bit of advice to the members of the IATF and the LTO, maybe you should catch up on sleep and rest because, at the same time, there’s also this policy exempting government employees from border protocols…there’s suddenly a double standard.)
“Palagay ko puyat na ang IATF kailangan siguro mamahinga,” she added.
(I think IATF members lack sleep, they should rest first.)
Malacañang, meanwhile, earlier maintained that there is no double standard in the said exemption.