The proposal to segregate vaccinated and unvaccinated individuals may lead to undue discrimination, the Commission on Human Rights (CHR) warned the government on Tuesday, Aug. 31.
“At this point when vaccines are scarce, any form of segregation between the vaccinated and unvaccinated may lead to undue discrimination,” CHR spokesperson and lawyer Jacqueline Ann de Guia said in a statement.
“In this view, we continuously remind the government to always put respect and regard for human rights at the center of its efforts,” she said.
Presidential Adviser for Entrepreneurship Joey Concepcion had proposed the creation of a travel bubble for the vaccinated and unvaccinated persons where the latter will be allowed to travel from home to the workplace.
Concepcion said he made to proposal because he wants to stop the spread of the virus. “As we have seen in news reports, the greatest number of those admitted in hospitals are coming from the unvaccinated,” he said.
Justice Secretary Menardo I. Guevarra had expressed apprehension over the proposal.
“The idea is good but may be challenged as violative of the equal protection clause by those who have remained unvaccinated but are nonetheless complying with mandatory health protocols,” Guevarra said.
“I understand that the objective behind PA Concepcion's proposal to give vaccinated persons greater mobility and access is to boost the revival of certain sectors of the economy,” he noted.
But Guevarra believed that that “the proper time to push for the proposal is when the vaccines have become readily available to anyone anywhere and the majority of the people have been fully vaccinated.”
The CHR said that even if the said proposal is limited to the National Capital Region (NCR), it pointed out that the reality on the ground is that Filipinos continue to struggle economically after losing jobs and livelihoods.
“According to the Metro Manila Development Authority, as of 24 Aug. 2021, 43.5 percent or 4.26 million qualified NCR residents have already been fully vaccinated; while 75 percent have gotten their first dose. This exposes a significant percentage of residents who will be restricted should the proposal push through,” De Guia said.
She noted that the government, as of Aug. 12, 2021, has reported that 17.9 percent of eligible Filipinos, or about 12 million, from the priority A1-A5 groups, have been fully vaccinated, and 14 million others received their first dose.
“The country needs to vaccinate around 70 million Filipinos to achieve herd immunity. The total population of the Philippines is about 110 million,” she said.
She pointed out that in times of public emergency, human rights standards, as embodied in the Siracusa Principles adopted by the United Nations Economic and Social Council in 1984, allows for “acceptable and reasonable restrictions of rights based on guidelines of necessity, legality, and proportionality of the proposed solution to the problem that needs to be addressed.”
“Any mode of restriction of rights, such as the people’s freedom of movement should be based on scientific evidence; should neither arbitrary nor discriminatory; and should especially be mindful of its possible disproportionate impacts to marginalized populations,” she said.
“Even if we treat greater mobility as an incentive to get vaccinated, the challenge on vaccine supply in the country remains. In this case, the best way to protect the unvaccinated as well is to increase vaccine supply and improve the vaccination rate across the country,” she added.