After declaring that it would implement a no vaccine, no work rule, the Philippine National Police (PNP), said it will just re-assign its unvaccinated personnel to low risk duty.
PNP chief Gen. Dionardo Carlos said the move is a practical approach in dealing with 1,771 of its personnel who refused to be vaccinated for various reasons.
“They will not be deployed for field work. More likely they will be assigned to do administrative work so that they will be less exposed to risks of COVID-19 infection,” Carlos said.
"These administrative functions will have limited close contact with the public clientele and other co-workers," he added.
Earlier, the PNP issued a statement saying that it will implement the no vaccine, no work rule based on the resolution of the Inter-Agency task Force on the Management of the Emerging Infectious Diseases (IATF-MEID).
The resolution, however, was widely criticized for being discriminatory, with legal experts and labor groups saying that it violates the law.
As of December 7, a total of 1,771 police personnel or 0.79 percent of the entire PNP remain unvaccinated.
Of the figure, 937 or 0.42 percent are with valid reasons due to allergic reaction, medical condition, pregnancy, and religious belief. Another 834 or 0.37 percent unvaccinated personnel have not offered any reasonable excuse to refuse vaccination, the Chief PNP said.
"The bottomline is nobody will be idle, everyone will functionally perform a designated job. Also, it will be crucial not to let them report for work since full deployment of personnel is needed during the holiday season," said Carlos.