TESDA to produce 50 M reusable masks

Up to 50 million reusable cloth face masks will soon be available for free to the public, according to the Technical Education

and Skills Development Authority.

TESDA deputy director general Aniceto Bertiz yesterday said the agency has been commissioned to produce 50 million reusable masks within the next four months as part of government efforts to prevent the spread of coronavirus disease 2019.

“We’ve been tasked to mass-produce the face masks based on required quality standards and at a cost of no more than P15 each,” Bertiz said.

He added that the face masks would be turned over to the Department of the Interior and Local Government (DILG), then to provincial, city and municipal governments for distribution.

Since March, TESDA has been producing face masks through a home-based livelihood support program for marginal families.

TESDA is providing the face masks for free to returning Filipino migrant workers as well as COVID-19 frontliners such as medical workers, police officers and volunteers.

On its official website, TESDA provides a step-by-step video guide on how to make the washable face mask, including a downloadable pattern.

Bertiz said TESDA intends to seek the help of the Department of Trade and Industry (DTI) in mobilizing highly laborintensive small and medium-size enterprises for the production of 50 million face masks.

Wearing of face masks is now mandatory in public, and those who fail to comply face arrest.

Meanwhile, environmental watchdog EcoWaste Coalition has urged the DILG to issue a memorandum that would compel local government units (LGUs) to craft their respective ordinances that would prohibit and penalize the improper disposal of face masks and other personal protective equipment (PPE).

“This new directive should build on DILG Memorandum Circular 2020-071 issued last April 9 requiring mandatory use of face masks or other protective equipment in public areas to avoid further transmission of COVID-19,” EcoWaste Coalition’s zero waste campaigner Jove Benosa said.

Benosa pointed out that while major cities already have ordinances on the mandatory use of face masks and other PPE, only a few LGUs have set rules on these materials’ proper disposal.