Former Senator Ferdinand 'Bongbong' Marcos Jr. on Thursday, Sept. 16 asked the Inter-Agency Task Force (IATF) to allow fully vaccinated Authorized Persons Outside of Residence (APORs) living in locked-down areas ‘free egress-ingress.’
“Let them go out for a living. And allow them to be with their families after work. It’s their daily routine to get through with this pandemic... financially and mentally,” Marcos said.
The former senator made the appeal following the IATF's pronouncement of granular lockdown rules that would be implemented in the National Capital Region (NCR) starting today September 16.
The IATF said only health care workers and returning OFWs would be considered APORs and would be allowed passage to and from areas under granular lockdown.
"Bakit pa sila tinawag na APOR kung hindi rin naman pala sila papayagang makalabas ng bahay, hindi ba't yun naman ang kahulugan ng acronym na iyon? (What's the sense of calling them APORs if they will not be allowed to go outside their homes? Isn't that what that acronym meant?)" Marcos said.
Department of Interior and Local Government (DILG) Secretary Eduardo Año said on Tuesday that NCR would be placed under Alert Level 4, the second-highest classification under the new IATF guidelines.
Individuals prohibited to leave their homes under Alert level 4 include those aged below 18 and aged above 65, people with comorbidities, immunocompromised, and pregnant women except when buying food and working in essential industries.
"Total lockdowns run counter to having APORs and the IATF will appear inconsistent should they insist on it. We are appealing to the IATF to let fully vaccinated APORs to leave their homes under granular lockdowns,’’ he added.
Also on Tuesday, more than a thousand business owners submitted a joint manifesto urging the government to give fully vaccinated individuals more mobility to spur economic growth.
The group added that this move "would give establishments an opportunity to bounce back and workers to rebuild their livelihood."
Marcos also said that it is important for the unvaccinated to see the added benefits of being fully vaccinated since this would allay their fears and finally encourage them to get the jab.
‘’It is also important to show people the added benefits of being fully vaccinated so the fears of some are allayed and finally convince them to get inoculated," he added.