(UPDATED) Senate President Vicente Sotto III said on Thursday, June 17, 2021, that President Rodrigo Duterte allowed him to remove his face shield during an event in Malacañang.
“Last night, the President agreed that face shields should only be used in hospitals. Allowed us to remove ours! Attn (attention) DOH (Department of Health)!” Sotto said in a Twitter post.
The Department of Health (DOH) requires proper wearing of face shields in most public places, especially in enclosed spaces or where there is a crowd, as one of the minimum public health standards against coronavirus disease 2019 (Covid-19).
Read: Where to wear face shields
As far as the DOH and the Inter-Agency Task Force (IATF) for the Management of Emerging Infectious Diseases are concerned, however, there has been no policy change.
Cabinet Secretary Karlo Nograles said the IATF will discuss the face shield policy during its meeting later Thursday.
"If there's any announcement sa bagong protocol, ilalabas po namin," he said.
Confusion over the face shield policy started when DOH Undersecretary Leopoldo Vega said in a Laging Handa briefing on June 16 that the face shield has to be used in indoor settings, but may be removed while walking on the street or when it hinders one from doing a task.
DOH Undersecretary Maria Rosario Vergeire said Vega was merely citing some of the settings where a face shield is required. (Third Anne Peralta-Malonzo / SunStar Philippines)