House Independent Bloc leader and Leyte Rep. Ferdinand Martin Romualdez has urged the Health department to ensure that there is an adequate supply of face masks for distribution to the public as the Indonesian haze that has affected several areas in Mindanao threatens to engulf Metro Manila.
Romualdez said that the government should be pro-active in dealing with the effects of the haze to human health.
“Malasakit [compassion] for our Filipino people should always be our utmost concern. The government should distribute appropriate dust masks that people can wear to protect themselves from the effects of haze that is stalking Mindanao. We should not take chances because public health is of utmost importance,” said Romualdez, a senatorial candidate and president of the Philippine Constitution Association.
Romualdez made the statement as Davao City Rep. Karlo Alexei Nograles revealed that many residents especially children have been complaining of breathing difficulty in Davao City.
Although it was not clear yet if this has something to do with the haze, Nograles appealed to the national government to work double time to address the problem.
“We should guarantee public safety because this is not ordinary incident,” said Nograles, explaining that some children failed to attend their classes because of asthma attack.
Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao Gov. Mujiv Hataman appealed to the public to stay indoors to avoid suffering from respiratory diseases.
“We should prepare for the worse because public safety is very important,” Hataman, a former congressman, said.
The Health department has said haze can cause air pollution, bringing risks to people ailing with respiratory tract infections and heart problem.
Earlier, Davao City Rep. Isidro Ungab asked the national government to conduct cloud seeding to contain the Indonesian haze.
Ungab pointed out that cloud seeding is needed to protect the public from bad effects of the haze that has said to be caused by the burning of forests in Indonesia.
The Trade Union Congress of the Philippines also weighed in on the haze problem and urged the administration to activate the inter-agency committee on envrionmental health to draw up long-term plans amid the presence of toxic haze.
The last time the committee was convened was in November 2011 following the threat to Makati residents caused by a ruptured petroleum pipeline. With Vito Barcelo