The IATF process in lifting face shield policy must be respected, according to Harry Roque.
HARRY ROQUE — The Presidential spokesperson said that the IATF process in lifting the face shield policy must be respected.
During the Presidential press briefing last Tuesday, the Palace spokesman admitted that he personally wanted to lift the face shield policy in the Philippines but appealed to local government units (LGUs) to respect President Duterte and to wait for the decision of the Inter-Agency Task Force (IATF) for the Management of Emerging Infectious Diseases.
Members of the IATF, which was led by President Duterte and in which Roque served as spokesperson, will meet on Thursday in order to decide on the use of face shields nationwide.
The Philippines was the only country to have a mandatory face shield policy in the world.
READ ALSO: Mayor Isko Moreno Firm on Lifting Mandatory Face Shield Policy
“Ako po ang personal na paninindigan ko dapat talaga tanggalin na ang face shield pero idaan natin sa proseso,” Roque said. “Hindi po pupwede kasing nagkakanya-kanya sa panahon ng pandemya.”
Last November 8, Metro Manila mayors held a meeting and agreed to limit the use of face shields in medical settings, but Manila Mayor Francisco “Isko Moreno” Domagoso already signed an executive order lifting the face shield policy in the country’s capital.
The Palace spokesman warned that Moreno’s order was “null and void” because of an existing policy decreed by President Duterte, but Moreno balked at the remark and said that mayors weren’t under the chain of command of the Chief Executive because they’re not military personnel.
Aside from Moreno, Iloilo City Mayor Jerry Treñas already issued an executive order lifting the use of face shield policy, while Davao City Mayor Sara Duterte signed an executive order making the use of face shield “voluntary” only in 3Cs.
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