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Duterte briefly removes face mask at IATF meeting, saying it was hard to speak

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<figure class="op-interactive"><iframe height="315" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/DX7OtixMudw?enablejsapi=1" width="560"></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>MANILA—President Rodrigo Duterte took off his face mask midway through a meeting with government officials on Saturday, saying he struggled to talk while wearing it.Duterte later put the mask back on. At the start of the meeting, which addressed the new COVID-19 strain and broadcast on live television, Duterte was seen wearing a face shield and face mask; about 15 minutes in, he took the shield off. As Health Sec. Francisco Duque III spoke about the COVID-19 vaccine, Duterte removed his mask. When Duque was done talking, Duterte apologized, saying the mask was &quot;bothering&quot; him.He later on added, seemingly in jest: &quot;Wala namang hulihan dito,&quot; (No one will do the arresting here).People who do not comply with minimum health standards in place under the COVID-19 pandemic are fined and often charged with quarantine-related violations.Among the quarantine violations are breaking distancing protocols and going out in public without face masks and face shields, which the pandemic task force, led by Duterte&#x27;s cabinet members, have enforced through separate memorandum circulars, to prevent the spread of the coronavirus. &quot;No one is above the law. Ang problema, hindi ako makapagsalita. I seem to . . . stammered ang bunganga ko,&quot; he added. (The problem is, I can&#x27;t talk. My mouth is . . . stammered.)After 30 minutes without it, the President was seen with his face mask on again, as Dr. Marissa Alejandria, a member of the technical advisory group for COVID-19, spoke.

Duterte took off his face mask midway through a meeting with government officials on Saturday, saying he struggled to talk while wearing it, but he later put the mask back on.

Duterte took off his face mask midway through a meeting with government officials on Saturday, saying he struggled to talk while wearing it, but he later put the mask back on.