kapos | assemblage art | UP Baguio Fine Arts

Kapos 2021
At the dawn of the COVID-19 pandemic, the Philippines made an unusual approach to halt the spread of the virus – Face Shields. Early last year, a nationwide mandate was implemented where civilians were required to wear face shields when going outside. It was endorsed, by the Department of Health, that it adds protection in contrast to wearing a face mask alone. By September, the entire country, still wearing face shields, logged its highest number of new cases peaking at 20,000.

When experts studied the effectiveness of face shields worn by civilians and not by medical personnel, they found that they did not significantly prevent a person from catching the virus. All the heavy lifting was made by wearing face masks and ventilation, which opened an array of discussions by netizens, experts, and government officials regarding its use and effectiveness.

One thing is sure; after all the studies, the officials deliberately chose to suffocate the entire country. Those caught not wearing face shields were subjected to punitive measures only to expose them to a higher risk of getting the virus. Whether for production or importation, the money could have been used to improve our health care system. The suffocation “kapos/kinakapos sa hangin” felt by the people in the mere usage of face shields reflects the “kapos/kinakapos” support and funding on our medical frontliners. Frontliners that we lost could still be alive right now if we prioritized vaccine rollouts instead of spending our budget on face shields. What was devised and marketed as additional protection turned out to be the equipment that will maim the country.

Now that face shields are not required to be worn outside, what purpose do face shields leave us with? If there is one, it serves as a reminder of how our country handled the pandemic...
Suffocating and ineffective.


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