Manila, Davao, and Iloilo cities made face shields non-mandatory

As lawmakers continuously urged the government to scrap the mandatory wearing of face shields, various local government units in the country have lifted such order in their jurisdiction.

On November 7, Manila City Mayor Francisco “Isko Moreno” Domagoso announced that face shields are no longer a prerequisite, except in hospitals and in high-risk areas. As Metro Manila was downgraded to Alert Level 2 on November 5, the dismissal of the face shield’s usage followed through in the city. It was promulgated through the Executive Order (EO) No. 42, “an order declaring the use of face shields as non-mandatory.”

In Iloilo City, face shields were no longer a mandatory health protocol after Mayor Jerry Treñas made the recommendation, citing studies that face shields were purposeless against COVID-19 transmission. The proposal was then approved on November 4 by the Iloilo City’s Sangguniang Panlungsod.

Davao City Mayor Sara Duterte made wearing of face shields an “optional” health protocol but should be observed with areas of 3Cs (crowded places, close-contact settings, and confined and enclosed spaces, which was also a mandated policy of the national government). The said amendment was implemented after the Davao Mayor signed Executive Order 51 on November 2.

Cebu City, under the governance of the acting Mayor Mike Rama, also stated that they would no longer require face shields on establishments but will rather leave the decision to business owners. However, the city will be more than willing to abide to the IATF’s recommendation on wearing of face shields in the lower alert level status, which was not yet finalized.

Malacañang on suspension of faceshield

“Null and void siya for being in violation of an existing executive policy decreed by the President himself in the exercise of police powers,” Presidential spokesperson Harry Roque said of LGU orders or resolutions making wearing of face shields non-mandatory.

[It is considered null and void for being in violation of an existing executive policy decreed by the President].

Roque added that even if the cases were decreasing, there is still no changes in the decision made by the Inter-Agency Task Force for the Management of Emerging Infectious Diseases (IATF) on the mandatory use of face shields.

“So, suot pa rin po tayo ng face shields…. bagamat dumadami ang sumusuporta sa hindi na paggamit ng face shields dahil bumababa ang numero  [ng kaso]… isuot pa rin po natin ang face shields lalong-lalo na do’n sa 3Cs when in the outdoors,” he said.

[We should still wear face shields. Although a lot of people support the non-wearing of face shields because cases are dropping, wearing face shields especially in 3Cs is a must.]

Yet, Interior Secretary Eduardo Año told the press on November 8 that mayors can make decisions while IATF has not made any announcements. Año said that as long as it is reasonable, city mayors can impose policies because if changes occur, they can just catch up with IATF guidelines.

The Department of Health, on the other hand, has supported Roque’s statement to not make any changes until IATF released an updated memorandum regarding the usage of face shields.

“We urge local governments to just hold their executive orders or issuances so we can all be uniform in our implementation and we are all aligned,” said Health Undersecretary Maria Rosario Vergeire.

According to Vergeire, experts will first review the non-efficient claims of face shields for pandemic response and by November 11, the task force will present the conclusion to the public.

The World Health Organization and the United States Centers for Disease Control and Prevention have not made any directions that face shields are efficient ways to prevent the spread of COVID-19 and its variants.