No QC rule to wear face shield outdoors but residents urged to obey nat’l protocol
FILE PHOTO: In this August 20, 2020, photo, passengers wear face shields and face masks along Commonwealth Avenue in Quezon City, as the Department of Transportation issued a memorandum directing all public transport passengers to wear face shields and face masks. This covers public transport passengers in the sectors of aviation, maritime, road, and railways, in a bid to ensure protection against the spread of the COVID-19. INQUIRER FILE PHOTO / NINO JESUS ORBETA
MANILA, Philippines — Quezon City has no ordinance on the wearing of face shield outdoors but Mayor Joy Belmonte reminded residents of the need to follow national protocol on mandatory use of the protective tool in public places.
According to Belmonte, a balance between “what is ideal and what is actually realistic” should be achieved regarding the enforcement of fae shield use.
In an interview with INQside Look, the city leader pointed out some concerns in ensuring that mandatory wearing of the face shield indoors and outdoors will be fully implemented – such as manpower.
“If you ask me, in an ideal scenario, I suppose it would make sense to make it into an ordinance but sometimes you have to strike a balance between what is ideal and what is actually realistic, and when I look at the situation outdoors, people are walking around,” Belmonte said when asked if the Quezon City Council will issue a separate local law that would require face shield use outdoors.
Currently, Belmonte said, Quezon City only has an ordinance that mandates residents to wear face shields indoors.
“Nire-remind natin, ‘please wear your face shield’ pero what if you find every single person that doesn’t wear the face shield properly? Wala ka ng ibang ginagawa sa lungsod. Hindi ka na nagbabantay for peace and order, hindi ka na nage-enforce ng iba pang batas kasi lahat ‘yan na lang ang gagawin sa dami ng taong ‘di sumusunod,” she noted.
“Kaya ang ginagawa na lang natin, ipaalala na lang sa kanila na kailangan pa rin nilang gawin ‘yun,” the mayor added.
Belmonte likewise said further studies may be needed regarding the necessity to wear face shields as protection against COVID-19 especially since the Philippines appears to be the only country in the world that is requiring its residents on its use.
“I feel that it is, at the moment, unrealistic vis-a-vis the number of enforcers that we have and given the size of the problem that has to be addressed,” she said.
“Since most countries say that the primary source of protection is really the face mask, basta naka-face mask ‘yan ang pinaka, mas mahalaga na kailangan nating i-enforce talaga,” she continued.
Despite this, Belmonte stressed that such concerns are not an excuse not to wear face shields, especially when state policy is in place.
On Monday night, President Rodrigo Duterte declared that wearing face shields both indoors and outdoors is still mandatory.
The announcement came after the confusion over the face shield policy surfaced following contradictory statements from different government officials regarding the matter.
Duterte apologized to the public for the unclear government rule on face shield use.
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