While coronavirus restrictions have eased in many parts of the United States, face masks are still required in public in Hawaii. That’s also the case in many overseas locations where the coronavirus continues to spread at a higher rate. That includes the Philippines.
Across the Philippines, thousands of people are detained by authorities every week for not wearing face masks or for wearing them improperly.
The Philippine National Police reports nearly 12,000 people were detained last week as “face mask violators.”
About 5,000 received warnings, another 5,000 were fined, and about 500 were ordered to do community service.
Nearly 1,000 were arrested—the exact charges depend on the local government jurisdiction.
There is no national law in the Philippines that makes it a criminal offense to not wear a face mask, but earlier this month, President Rodrigo Duterte ordered police to detain anyone not wearing a mask—including those wearing masks but not covering their noses.
He told reporters, “My orders to the police are those who are not wearing their masks properly—arrest them and detain them, investigate why they are doing it.”
The country’s Justice Secretary and Chief of Police have both urged officers to fine offenders or have them do community service rather than formally arrest them.
Agence France Presse reports a human rights group called Karapatan calls that presidential directive about masks “brazenly unscientific and ineffective” and a “disproportionate use of force.”
