By now, you've probably heard news about the mandatory wearing of face shields. The new requirement was mentioned by Presidential spokesperson, Harry Roque, during a press briefing yesterday.
The new mandate was made under IATF Resolution No. 88, which was signed and dated last December 14, 2020.
Under this new resolution, “all persons are mandated to wear full-coverage face shields together with face masks, earloop masks, indigenous, reusable, or do-it-yourself masks, or other facial protective equipment which can effectively lessen the transmission of COVID-19, whenever they go out of their residences.”
This new resolution is effectively mandating everyone to wear increased protection whenever out of their residences.
This new requirement, which was previously limited to some local government units (LGU), establishments, and public transport, has now raised the question: “Will drivers and riders also be requried to wear a face shield while driving or riding?"
The answer may be pretty obvious, but Pinoys can't be faulted for making sure, especially with these laws subject to 'creative' interpretation by law enforcement units.
For example, the motorcycle modification fiasco a few years back caused hundreds, if not thousands of motorcycle riders countless hours inside LTO and LGU offices to pay their penalties and eventually reclaim their privilege to drive again. Later on, after various motorcycle rights groups have stepped in, it was deemed that some of those “illegal modifications” that were confiscated were, in fact, legal and should not have been confiscated in the first place.
So, MotoPinas.com asked the Department of Transportation’s (DOTr) director for communications, Ms. Vicky Apacible, to shed light on the matter. The directress then referred us to the Land Transportation Office (LTO) for proper disposition.
Unfortunately, as of this writing, the LTO has not responded yet to our inquiries whether riding will now also require a face shield, on top of a face mask and a helmet’s visor.
Hopefully, common sense will always prevail on the street level and we will not be penalized for something that cannot be applied to riding motorcycles.
