MANILA – Malacañang said on Thursday that it will wait for the outcome on the research conducted by World Health Organization (WHO) regarding the experience of Filipinos using face shields as protection against coronavirus disease 2019 (Covid-19) before determining whether or not to remove them.
Presidential Spokesperson Harry Roque made the statement amid public pressure to remove the face shield mandate and concerns that officials may profit from the selling of face shields.
“I understand that even the WHO will render an expert opinion on whether or not the use of face shields is justified so antayin po natin ang opinyon ng (let’s wait for the opinion of) WHO,” he said in a Palace press briefing.
Roque also ruled out corruption in the purchase of face shields by the government.
“Wala pong relasyon ‘yan. Ang pagsusuot po ng face shields, nakikita niyo naman sa ating presidential press briefings, ay sang-ayon po sa mga opinyon ng eksperto (It has no relation. The use of face shields, you can see from our presidential press briefings, is in accordance to the opinion of experts),” he added.
The Commission on Audit (COA) previously raised concerns over the Department of Health’s (DOH) transfer of PHP41.8 billion to the Procurement Service of the Department of Budget and Management (PS-DBM) to purchase personal protective equipment (PPE) gears such as face masks and face shields.
According to state auditors, the transfer lacked a memorandum of agreement (MOA), which is required by the procurement law’s internal rules on outsourcing procurement activities.
The Senate also expressed concern about the face masks and face shields, which were priced at PHP27.72 and PHP120 per piece, respectively.
Duterte stated in a taped speech last week that the medical supplies were obtained during the height of the Covid-19 outbreak, when prices increased due to a lack of supply.
“I want to make it on record to the public and everybody that I and the Cabinet knew about it. Sabi ko (I said) go ahead and buy the things you need. Pandemic nga e. Sabi ko emergency ito. Emergency hanggang ngayon (We are in a pandemic. I said this is an emergency and the emergency persists up to the present time),” Duterte said.
Dr. Rabindra Abeyasinghe, WHO representative in the Philippines, admitted on Tuesday that the Philippines is one of the few countries that advocates the use of face shields in addition to face masks.
“The face shields are being used to reduce the likelihood of infection through the eyes. That’s not actually an additional layer although it boosts the protection provided by poor mask-wearing practices,” Abeyasinghe said.
Abeyasinghe said that while the Philippines was able to “sort of delay the speed of the Delta variant is transmitting, we don’t know if face shield is a contributing factor.”
“While we’re understanding all of these issues, it’s best to look for evidence and make our decision based from that,” he added when asked if the government should scrap its face shield policy.
In December 2020, the government began mandating people to wear face shields over their face masks.
