The national director of Caritas Philippines has assured the government of the Church’s support in the vaccination program.

Bishop Jose Colin Bagaforo made the assurance during a meeting with House Speaker Lord Allan Velasco, who sought their help in easing the public’s fear against the vaccination program.

"If we need to take the vaccine publicly to increase the public’s confidence on the vaccination program, as bishops, we have agreed to do it," he said in a statement on Thursday, March 4.

Father Antonio Labiao, Caritas Philippines’ executive secretary, said they have also offered church facilities to the local government units (LGUs) and the Department of Health (DOH) for use during the vaccination roll-out.

"Our health workers are likewise assisting the program across the country, all with the aim of helping our government tackle the pandemic more efficiently and effectively," he said.

The Catholic Bishops’ Conference of the Philippines (CBCP) through the Episcopal Commission on Health Care has been conducting virtual sessions on the coronavirus disease (COVID-19) vaccines.

Bagaforo, meantime, said while the bishops were giving all-out support to the program, the government must also "strive to gain the public’s trust by providing consistent and easy-to-understand messages on the vaccine."

"It is very important that our government show transparency and reliability. When it fails to do so, then skepticism will grow and so does our problems," he said.

On Feb. 28, 2021, 500,000 doses of Sinovac vaccines arrived in the Philippines from China.

Despite the clamor for vaccine, however, trust rating for the Chinese product remains low.

Based on the OCTA Research survey released on Feb. 24, 2021, 46 percent of Filipinos were still unwilling to be vaccinated due to safety concerns, despite the roll-out of town hall meetings and the government's massive information dissemination drives.