“Panawagan ko sa isang ahensya ng gobyerno, Remdesivir at Tocilizumab ang bilhin niyo, hindi face shield,” Manila City Mayor Francisco “Isko” Domagoso tweeted on Monday, 6 September, advising an unnamed government agency to purchase medicine used to treat Covid-19 instead of face shields.
This tweet, directed to “the country’s lead agency in Covid-19 response,” was accompanied by a caption that said, “Remdesivir & Tocilizumab > Face shield”.
Though Domagoso did not specify the context of this tweet, the Manila City mayor has been consistent in his stance regarding the face shield requirement. In June this year, he criticized the government’s continued insistence on the requirement, saying, “Ang face shield ay dapat ipatigil nang i-require sa general population at gamitin na lamang sa ospital upang makabawas sa gastusin at intindihin ng taumbayan.” (“The general population should stop being required to wear face shields. These should only be used in hospitals to lessen the expenses and worries of the people.”)
He added, “Tayo na lang yata sa buong mundo ang nag-re-require ng face shield sa kalsada. Dapat pag-isipan uli ito.” (“We may be the only ones in the world to require face shields on the streets. We should rethink this.”)
Under Damogoso’s administration, the City of Manila has also acquired Remdesivir and Tocilizumab doses to treat Covid-19 patients, making them available for free in public and private hospitals. Damogoso has ordered the purchase of Remdesivir beginning in 2020, while the city government announced earlier this year that Php13 million had been budgeted for Tocilizumab.
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