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Isko says Palace should 'go to court' for Manila to revoke no face shield policy

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ABS-CBN News

MANILA - Manila Mayor and presidential candidate Isko Moreno Domagoso on Tuesday said the national government &quot;can go to court and ask for declaratory relief&quot; if they want to force the local government of Manila to reimpose the mandatory wearing of face shields in the capital city.Domagoso gave the statement a day after Malacañang said all local chief executives need to follow the chain of command in the executive branch.&quot;If they are not happy, they can go to court and ask for declaratory relief... Our decision will stay,&quot; he told ANC&#x27;s Headstart.&quot;Maliwanag namang kapakanan ng tao. &#x27;Yung hiling lang naman ng tao ang aming dinidinig,&quot; he said.(It is clear that we are only looking after the welfare of the public. We just heeded what the public wanted.)<ul class="op-related-articles">	<li><a href="https://news.abs-cbn.com/news/11/08/21/manila-lifts-mandatory-use-of-face-shield">Manila lifts mandatory use of face shields, except in hospitals</a></li></ul>Malacañang spokesperson Harry Roque earlier called Manila&#x27;s policy against face shields as &quot;null and void,&quot; saying it is &quot;in violation of an existing executive policy decreed by the President himself, in the exercise of police powers.&quot;&quot;Until hindi nababago ang desisyon ng IATF, the order of the President, through the IATF, is ipatupad pa rin ang pagsusuot ng ating mga face shields,&quot; he said.(Until the decision of the IATF is modified, the order of the President, through the IATF, is to require the use of face shields.)<ul class="op-related-articles">	<li><a href="https://news.abs-cbn.com/news/11/08/21/palace-tells-public-to-wait-for-final-decision-on-face-shield">Palace tells public to wait for final decision on face shield, calls Manila&#x27;s EO &#x27;null and void&#x27;</a></li></ul>Domagoso said while he respects the opinion of Roque, who is a lawyer by profession, Manila&#x27;s no face shield policy would not be revoked.&quot;When we speak of chain of command, it speaks of military. We are not uniformed personnel,&quot; the mayor said.&quot;Control is the power to reverse, supervise is the power to oversee... He (The President) has no control over the mayor. He has the power of supervision,&quot; he said.<div>&#x27;THEY HAVE NOT DONE THEIR ASSIGNMENT&#x27;</div>The local government of Manila will only reconsider its policy on face shields if the Department of Health (DOH) can present scientific evidence that face shields significantly reduce the transmission of COVID-19, Domagoso said.&quot;What they want us to do is something that is not science-based,&quot; the mayor said.&quot;They have not done their assignment. It&#x27;s been so many months... We are the only country in the world using face shields,&quot; he said.Domagoso noted that several senior citizens and asthmatic people have been complaining of discomfort when using face shields, adding that the acetate of acrylic gear only adds to the public&#x27;s expenses and trash.The Department of the Interior and Local Government earlier said it was also in favor of scrapping the mandatory use of face shields, except in high-risk areas such as hospitals.<ul class="op-related-articles">	<li><a href="https://news.abs-cbn.com/video/news/11/04/21/dilg-wants-face-shield-rule-scrapped">DILG says to urge COVID-19 task force to junk face shield rule</a></li></ul><figure class="op-interactive"><iframe allow="autoplay; fullscreen" frameBorder="0" height="100%" id="ivsplayer01" scrolling="no" src="https://player.ivideosmart.com/ivsplayer/v4/dist/html/iframe-src.html?iframeid=ivsplayer01&amp;key=e8c22c015ca9eafa76f1e3edfa03c603&amp;spid=3001339&amp;vid=1824104" width="100%"></iframe></figure><div class="iwantbar">Watch more in <a href="//www.iwantv.com.ph/">iWantv</a> or <a href="//tfc.tv/">TFC.tv</a></div>&quot;Hindi po pupuwede kasing nagkakaniya-kaniya sa panahon ng pandemya. Siguro po kung hindi batas ang pinag-uusapan, respeto na lang po sa ating Presidente dahil lahat naman po ng desisyon ng IATF ay desisyon ng Presidente,&quot; Roque said in a press briefing on Tuesday. (We cannot go our own ways during a pandemic. Perhaps if we are not talking about the law, just show respect to our President because all decisions of the IATF are the decisions of the IATF.) &quot;Paano ngayon susunod ang mga mamamayan kung mga mayor mismo ay hindi sumusunod?&quot; he added.(How can citizens obey if mayors do not?) The IATF, he said, would discuss the policy on Thursday.

Manila Mayor Isko Moreno Domagoso said the local government would only reimpose the mandatory wearing of face shields if forced by a court.