The Metro Manila Council (MMC) said it is not yet the right time to implement a vaccine pass policy that will only allow fully vaccinated individuals to enter indoor establishments.
MMC Chairman and Parañaque Mayor Edwin Olivarez said the policy will be “unfair” given that only few Filipinos have received their COVID-19 jabs.
“Sa amin sa MMC, di pa tamang panahon ngayon para i-implement ‘yang policy na ‘yan (For us in the MMC, it’s not yet the right time to implement that policy),” Olivarez told Unang Hirit.
Olivarez added that the bulk of the country’s vaccine supply will only be arriving in June.
“Makikita natin na yung ating vaccination program ngayon pa lang po umaarangkada at meron tayong mga vaccine na dumating pero di pa rin po siya supisiyente (It is only now that our vaccination program is accelerating and while we have vaccines coming in, they are still not sufficient),” he said.
Department of Trade and Industry (DTI) Secretary Ramon Lopez had earlier said that the vaccine pass system is “being studied as to the timing and protocol.”
Other business establishments have pushed for an incentive system instead to encourage others to get vaccinated.
The Department of Health, for its part, said it is not keen on issuing vaccine passes to fully inoculated individuals.