Metro Manila (CNN Philippines, October 14) — President Rodrigo Duterte was only joking when he earlier remarked that he wants to vaccinate people in their sleep to reach those who hesitate to get COVID-19 shots, Malacañang said Thursday.
Presidential spokesperson Harry Roque said that they need a good laugh during hours-long Cabinet meetings.
“Joke lang po ‘yun. Ang tagal ng mga pagpupulong namin sa Talk to the People, ang nakikita niyo ay kapiraso lang, mahaba ang mga meetings na ‘yun. Para di kami makatulog, kailangan naman ng kaunting joke,” he said during a press briefing.
[Translation: It’s only a joke. We have very long meetings during Talk to the People and you can only see a portion of it. In order for us not to fall asleep, we need some joke.]
Duterte, known for his controversial statements and deadpan jokes, on Monday instructed officials to look for those who remain vaccine hesitant in their villages and he will “lead the journey” so they can be injected while asleep.
As of October 13, a total of 50.96 million COVID-19 vaccine doses have been administered. Of this, 23.76 million are already fully vaccinated and 27.19 million have at least received their first dose.
Despite Duterte’s recent statement, Malacañang said there is no need yet to pass a law that would make vaccination against COVID-19 mandatory.
“Ubusin muna natin yung gusto natin mabakunahan, bago natin pag-isipan yung pagpasa ng batas para maging mandatory ang pagpapabakuna,” said Roque.
[Translation: Let’s focus first on those who we wanted to get vaccinated before we discuss on crafting a law to make vaccination mandatory.]
The country formally started its vaccination drive in March and it will be expanded to minors aged 12 to 17 years old staring October 15.
