Sotto wants Senate probe on face shield efficacy

Senate President Vicente Sotto III is pushing for a Senate inquiry into the effectiveness of face shields, citing the Department of Health's (DOH) justification for the policy.

Sotto filed Proposed Senate Resolution No. 757, directing the Senate committee of the whole to investigate the efficacy of wearing face shields.

This move comes after President Rodrigo Duterte's recent decision on Monday evening, June 21, to once again require face shields both outdoors and indoors, a reversal from a Malacañang announcement seven hours earlier that the mandatory use outdoors would end.

The Senate President expressed frustration over the flip-flopping policy, noting that the Philippines appears to be the only country mandating face shields on top of face masks.

He questioned the rationale behind the policy, referencing a DOH briefer that listed countries like China, South Korea, Malta, the United Kingdom, and the US state of Oregon as users of face shields or visors, but not as a mandatory policy.

Sotto argued that face shields are not among recommended protocols from world health experts to prevent COVID-19 transmission, and that for the poor, the cost is high for something that does not afford protection.