Panelo: More than 7M masks distributed by DSWD
More than seven million masks have been distributed by the Department of Social Welfare and Development (DSWD) to different local government units amid the continued threat of the coronavirus disease (Covid-19), Presidential Legal Counsel Salvador Panelo said on Saturday.
Panelo, in his daily online program “Counterpoint,” said it was part of the “Libreng Mask Para sa Masa” program of President Rodrigo Duterte and covered at least 24 municipalities and cities and three provinces.
“The DSWD also had turnover recently in Caloocan, Makati and even Davao City and Iloilo,” he said.
Of the total seven million masks distributed, at least 381,000 were given in Makati; one million in Caloocan; 994,000 in Davao; and 852,330 in Iloilo.
“It is part of the government’s strategy to prevent the spread of Covid-19 and ensure compliance with minimum health protocols. We cannot force them to wear mask if they have no capability to buy their own,” Panelo said.
It is also a way to help micro, small and medium enterprises.
“The production of masks provide employment to many of those who were affected by the pandemic,” he said.
Panelo said the initiative contradicted critics who claimed the government failed to address the increase in the number of Covid-19 cases, as well as those displaced by the pandemic.
“Critics of the government should know the efforts of the government to finally put an end to the pandemic and at the same time, provide assistance to businesses affected by the lockdown. These are the efforts which are not being recognized by the opposition,” he said.