Metro Manila (CNN Philippines, January 21)— Members of the Makabayan bloc are seeking a House probe into the alleged rights violations and effects of government restrictions against those who have yet to get their COVID-19 shots.
House Resolution No. 2460 filed on Thursday highlighted the “urgent need” for Congress to look into the policies against the unvaccinated, particularly those that tend to discriminate and burden sectors.
“While vaccinating the people could be important in the fight against the pandemic, Congress should take the side of the people against policies that curtail constitutional rights, [are] discriminatory, and unnecessar[ily] burden the workers and other poor people especially at this time of pandemic and severe hardship,” read the document signed by Reps. Ferdinand Gaite, Carlos Zarate, Eufemia Cullamat, France Castro, Arlene Brosas, and Sarah Elago.
They specifically pointed out the following: President Rodrigo Duterte’s order for barangay captains to arrest unvaccinated individuals who would refuse to stay home, the Department of Transportation’s controversial “no vaccine, no ride” policy, as well as ordinances of some local government units regulating the movement of unvaccinated residents.
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The group noted this was not the first time that the government issued “threats” against the public amid the health crisis, citing that the President earlier sought the arrest of COVID-19 protocol violators, among others.
“Such militaristic approach to the pandemic failed to alleviate the suffering of the ordinary people or improve the situation of the health workers and the capacity of the health care system amid the repeated surge in COVID-19 cases,” the resolution said.
Several officials earlier defended the no vax, no ride rule, dismissing criticisms that the directive is discriminatory and anti-poor. Meanwhile, the Department of the Interior and Local Government also assured that the arrest of uncooperative unvaccinated individuals would be a “last resort.”
