ILOILO City – The optional wearing of face shields is adversely affecting sidewalk vendors. Customers became fewer to none, they said.
“Pigado gid. Halin sang nagligad nga semana wala na gawa sang nagabakal,” said Tessie Salvador of Barangay North Baluarte, Molo district.
She could sell a piece at P70 last month. Now the price dropped to P20.
“Lain na gid subong ‘ya. Sang una indi ka makalagaw kon wala sang face shield,” she said.
President Rodrigo Duterte approved the recommendation of the Inter-Agency Task Force for the Management of Emerging Infectious Diseases (IATF-MEID), making the wearing of face shields voluntary in areas under coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) alert levels 1,2 and 3.
Salvador said she could sell only three to four face shields nowadays.
Merlinda Andaya, a saleslady in a store on Ledesma Street, agreed.
“May adlaw gani nga wala may nagabakal,” Andaya said.
Previously, people were required to wear face shields inside malls.
“Kada agi sang tawo mabakal gid face shields,” said Andaya, who has been selling face coverings for over a year.
Seller Romelyn of Barangay Calaparan, Arevalo district had the same sentiment.
“Bisan pa nagbalik sa new normal, pigado gid,” she said.
For Romelyn, the wearing of face shields should not have been lifted. It could be an added protection against COVID-19, she said.
A store owner on Mabini Street, on the other hand, further lowered down their price to P15. But still, few customers are buying, he said.
The entire Region 6 is under Alert Level 2 until the end of the month.
The IATF-MEID, on Dec. 14, 2020, issued Resolution 88, requiring all persons to wear full-coverage face shields on top of facemasks in all public places to control coronavirus spread./PN
