We echo the assertion of some senators that face shields add little or even no protection against COVID-19 infections.
It adds to plastic pollution aside from being an unnecessary expense for citizens.
We are outraged to learn in the Senate blue ribbon committee hearing that the government procured overpriced face shields.
Face shields are important for medical workers, but under the Duterte administration, these items have become a symbol of waste and corruption.
It is useless to convince the Inter-Agency Task Force for the Management of Emerging Infectious Diseases to reconsider its order for the mandatory use of face shields, that is why they are now appealing to local government units to stop requiring the use of face shields in their respective jurisdictions.
The optional use of face shields will hopefully partially reduce plastic garbage aside from removing an inconvenient financial burden on our people.
We ask the government to make a concrete plan on how to properly dispose of the plastic mess they had created, and to make officials and so-called experts accountable for legitimizing the improper use of public funds for an irrational pandemic policy.
KEVIN PAUL AGUAYON
Campaign Coordinator
Nilad Metro Manila Environmental Network