MANILA, Philippines – GMA-7 actor Jason Abalos did not like President Rodrigo Duterte’s advice to those who want to disinfect used face masks, something that can be more harmful to the wearer than helping in the midst of coronavirus disease (COVID- 19) pandemic.
On July 21, Duterte said the following for those who want to reuse face masks but do not have alcohol or lysol:
“[I] soak in gasoline or diesel, putanginang COVID na ‘yan. It will not work there. True. If you do not have – if you want to disinfect, look for gasoline. Just soak your hand.”
Even though it was just “joke only” said presidential spokesperson Harry Roque, Jason was annoyed with the controversial strongman because the issue of COVID-19 was close to his heart.
“Namatay ang kaibigan kong pediatric surgeon dahil sa covid, tapos may panahon pa kayong mag joke?? “said the Kapuso actor, Friday.
“Pagbabago ang ginusto ko nong binoto kita hindi panggagago!”
Namatay ang kaibigan kong pediatric surgeon dahil sa covid, tapos may panahon pa kayong mag joke?? Pagbabago ang ginusto ko nong binoto kita hindi panggagago!
— jason abalos (@thejasonabalos) July 23, 2020
Joke talaga to sila! 🤦🏻 https://t.co/tz6WO4Jqsh
— jason abalos (@thejasonabalos) July 23, 2020
Jason was first met after participating in the reality-based talent competition “Star Circle Quest (Season 2)” on ABS-CBN but is currently a Kapuso and part of the GMA Artist center.
Abalos are just some of the Kapuso and Kapamilya celebrities who are vocal today in their criticism of the president in relation to various issues such as the COVID-19 response, non-renewal of the ABS-CBN franchise and the Anti-Terrorism Act of 2020 .
Duterte’s “joke” (which he said looked serious) was first dismissed as baseless by Department of Health (DOH) Undersecretary Maria Rosario Vergeire after he said face masks should not be used as fuel.
In fact, it is not even possible to wet some types of face masks because they will lose their ability to filter the virus from the air.
“Other masks we can wash over and over again like cloth masks and we have to wash every day after use,” Vergeire said.
“The surgical mask and N95 mask, (these are for) single use only. Can not be washed, our masks have components like certain filtering mechanisms that when washed or read, (the) effect will disappear.”
