President Duterte on Tuesday, Oct. 12, perhaps in jest, said that he will “lead” vaccinators to trespass in other people’s homes just to inoculate residents who refuse the coronavirus disease (COVID-19) vaccines.
During the "full version" of his pre-taped weekly public talk that was aired on Tuesday, the Chief Executive noted there are still many individuals who refuse to get vaccinated.
“Iyan ang problema ‘yung ayaw magpabakuna kaya hanapin ninyo ‘yan sa barangay ninyo. Akyatin natin pagtulog at turukin natin habang natutulog para makumpleto iyong istorya (The problem is those who don’t want to get vaccinated, look for them in your barangay. Let’s climb their houses and administer the vaccine to them),” he said.
“Kung ayaw e di akyatin sa bahay, tusukin natin sa gabi. Ako ang mag-ano (If they don’t want to, let’s enter their homes at night and vaccinate them. I will)—I will lead the journey.”
The best way to end the COVID-19 pandemic, the President stressed, is via three things—getting vaccinated, wearing masks, and observing social distancing.
“Iyan lang pagbilin ko sa’yo. Sana sundin ninyo kasi iyan talaga ‘yung pawala ng sakit ng ulo sa bayan natin—magpabakuna (That’s all I can remind you. I hope you follow because that’s the only way to remove this problem of our country—get vaccinated),” Duterte said.
The country has already administered about 50 million doses of COVID-19 vaccines, with 23,186,969 individuals now fully vaccinated. Meanwhile, another 26,486,522 have received their first dose.
On Monday, Oct. 11, the country logged its lowest number of new cases since Aug. 5 with 8,292 positive results. The positivity rate, despite still higher than the recommended less than 5 percent, has also dropped below 17 percent for the fourth straight day.
In the same briefing, Duterte expressed hope that there will be a “better Christmas” for Filipinos this year thanks to the ramped up vaccination program.