MANILA, Philippines — President Rodrigo Duterte on Monday night urged Filipinos to wear their face masks properly in order to prevent the spread of coronavirus, calling out those who do not strictly abide by minimum health standards.
"Because there are some who wear masks and then I see your nose hanging out there just on the edge of the mask, the upper portion," he said in Filipino during a pre-recorded address on Monday night. "So it does not really give a relief at all if the person wearing it is that careless."
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"I hope that you would be religious in obeying the injunctions [given by our] medical persons simply because we are trying to save our country," Duterte added.
In addition to face masks, Filipinos are required to wear full-coverage face shields and observe physical distancing under community quarantine.
The president also reminded the public to wash their hands frequently.
But do the rules apply to all?
"It is pitiful —it would be good if those hit [by the virus] have resources. But those who do not are the ones who are pitiful," Duterte said in Filipino, urging the public to abide by minimum health standards in order to protect the most vulnerable.
But his own policies have exacerbated the already gaping inequality among Filipinos throughout the pandemic. The community quarantine imposed by Duterte has been criticized by experts and lawmakers as militarized rather than one led by health experts.
The president himself has been seen wearing face masks improperly despite the rigid rules set by his administration. So has Health Secretary Francisco Duque III.
In other instances, Duterte was seen choosing to forego a face mask altogether even in instances where he is in public and social distancing is not enforced.
Government officials have also appeared in public and on TV wearing incomplete protective gear — sometimes just a face shield, sometimes with just a face mask — or none at all.
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In July 2020, the president called on police to arrest those not wearing face masks even though a Social Weather Stations Survey found two months earlier that 77% of Filipinos always don face masks when they leave their homes. A separate SWS poll released in September 2020 found that almost a fifth of the country, around 14.2 million Filipinos, do not have access to face masks.
In April last year, he also urged security forces to shoot dead those who do not abide by quarantine rules. That same month, police shot dead 34-year-old army veteran former Cpl. Winston Ragos, allegedly in self-defense, after a confrontation over quarantine rules. Even later in April, local authorities in Quezon City were caught beating a man for not wearing a face mask.
Just last month, Duterte removed his face mask during a meeting with the COVID-19 task force and said jokingly: "Wala namang hulihan dito (There are no arrests here)."
Several high-profile officials, including top cop Debold Sinas, presidential spokesman Harry Roque, Sens. Manny Pacquiao and Koko Pimentel have also flouted quarantine rules and have suffered no punishment.
READ: Whatever happened to: Quarantine violators in Philippine government
— Bella Perez-Rubio