Businesses may require employees, customers to wear face shields, Palace clarifies

Malacañang clarified on Friday that private establishments have the discretion to require employees and customers to wear face shields. 

At a press briefing, acting presidential spokesperson Karlo Nograles said the government’s COVID-19 task force amended the memorandum issued on Monday by Executive Secretary Salvador Medialdea, which stated that face shield use is only voluntary for areas under Alert Levels 1, 2, and 3.

“With regard to the voluntary use of face shields for areas under Alert Levels 3 to 1, it is hereby clarified that the same is without prejudice to employers still requiring their use for their employees/workers and/or customers in their respective premises,” the Inter-Agency Task Force for the Management of Emerging Infectious Diseases (IATF) said in a resolution passed on Thursday.

“Moreover, all issuances of the national government agencies inconsistent with the Memorandum of the Executive Secretary dated 15 November 2021, on Protocols on the Use of Face Shields, shall be considered as amended and/or modified accordingly,” it added.

Nograles previously told private establishments to follow the Palace memorandum.

"For establishments, they’ll have to follow the protocols that state that it’s purely voluntary for the users of face shields," the Cabinet official said on Tuesday.

The usefulness of face shields in lowering the risk of COVID-19 has been disputed by some medical experts and local government officials, but championed by others.

The Philippines is currently under a five-level coronavirus alert system which was first implemented in the National Capital Region. — VBL, GMA News