Iloilo City exempts cyclists from face shield edict

By Joseph B.A. Marzan

 

Iloilo City will continue to exempt cyclists from wearing face shields due to visibility concerns, Mayor Jerry Treñas told Daily Guardian on Sunday.

The national Inter-Agency Task Force on the Management of Emerging Infectious Diseases (IATF-MEID) on Dec. 15, 2020 issued Resolution No. 88 mandating the use of face shields in all public places.

The move aims to further prevent the spread of the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) in the country.

Police Lt. Gen. Cesar Binag, commander of the PNP Joint Task Force COVID Shield, said on Friday that cyclists and joggers will also be required to wear face shields.

The resolution also enjoined city and municipal councils that passed face shield ordinances to amend their rules to be in line with the resolution.

The IATF-MEID’s resolution does not match the provisions of the city’s ordinance on the wearing of face shields.

Iloilo City’s Regulation Ordinance No. 2020-085 provides penalties for the non-wearing of face shields in the city.

Occupational safety and health, as well as the use of personal eyewear like eyeglasses, however, were considered exemptions to the ordinance.

Due to these concerns, Treñas issued a statement on his Facebook page reiterating a directive from September saying that cyclists are exempt from wearing face shields, citing safety issues.

“I would like to reiterate our previous directive several months ago. Cyclists are not required to use face shields for their own safety in Iloilo City. Please be guided accordingly. Thank you,” the mayor said in a statement.

The mayor told Daily Guardian in a text message that cyclists’ visions might be clouded or obstructed if they wear face shields.

Department of Health (DOH) spokesperson Maria Rosario Vergeire said in a press conference on Saturday that it may consider exempting solo cyclists from wearing face shields.

As to the face mask and face shield ordinance not being in line with the IATF-MEID’s resolution, Treñas said the Iloilo City Council may take up the amendments when their regular session resumes in January 2021.

There is a scheduled special session of the city council today, Dec. 21, to amend clerical errors on Regulation Ordinance No. 2020-139 or the city’s contact-tracing ordinance, one of the city’s other measures against COVID-19.

But the mayor said that it was already “too late” to include amendments to the face shield ordinance to the said special session.