Local execs want say on face shields

FILE PHOTO: People wear face mask and face shields to help curb the spread of COVID-19 as they walk along the streets in Quezon city, Philippines on Wednesday, Aug. 19, 2020. Philippine President Rodrigo Duterte has decided to ease a mild coronavirus lockdown in the capital and four outlying provinces to further reopen the country’s battered economy despite having the most reported infections in Southeast Asia. (AP Photo/Aaron Favila)

MANILA, Philippines — Local government officials should be the ones to decide whether face shields would be required in their areas, according to Quirino Gov. Dakila Cua, president of the Union of Local Authorities of the Philippines.

Cua made the statement ahead of the announcement of the national government’s new policy on face shields, which is up for approval of President Duterte.

“Our appeal is simple. [Local governments] should be allowed to decide on face shields,” Cua said at the Laging Handa briefing.

He said there was already a nationwide mandate for people to wear face masks, and the face shield was just another added layer of protection.

“[Local governments] could determine, according to their doctors, if there is a need to wear a face shield in certain circumstances. They could be the one to implement this,” he said.

But he also said local officials would abide by whatever the national government would decide.