President Rodrigo R. Duterte reiterated his order to provide free masks for the public especially to those who cannot buy their own.
In his weekly Talk to the Nation address, Pres. Duterte pointed out that one of the reasons for the quick transmission of the Coronavirus Disease 2019 (COVID-19) is the lack of compliance by the public due to the lack of money to buy a mask.
“Iilang gamit lang ‘yan. But iyong iba lumang-luma eh isang buwan na ginagamit because you know they do not have money to buy. We have to provide the mask for everybody. Kung iyang tao walang pera mabili ng mask, how do you expect compliance from him (That can only be used for several times. But others have been wearing it for a month because they do not have money to buy. We have to provide the mask for everybody. If the person does not have the money to buy a mask, how do you expect compliance from him)?”
He again called on the Department of Interior and Local Government (DILG) and the local government units (LGUs) to provide the free masks.
“Kung kailangan na we ask the people to comply, we also look into the possibility that they cannot buy it. So government, sa panahong ito, must provide. You know, when they get sick, ‘ika nga, you cannot flog a dead horse. Kaya at least every two days puro pawis na ‘yan at I said the properties of that mask might not be really as strong as what it is intended for (If we need to ask the people to comply, we also look into the possibility that they cannot buy it. So government, at this time, must provide. You know, when they get sick, as they say, you cannot flog a dead horse. That’s why at least every two days that’s full of sweat and I said the properties of that mask might not be really as strong as what it is intended for).” -NGS, PTV News Online
