Former Vice President Jejomar “Jojo” Binay has slammed the government for announcing the vaccination of essential workers despite the inadequate supply of COVID-19 vaccines in the country, calling it a “cruel joke” to workers.

He said the announcement of the government is a “publicity” stunt at the expense of workers.

“Kulang na kulang pa ang bakuna. Pero dahil sa announcement, dumagsa ang maraming essential workers sa vaccination centers at marami ang hindi nabakunahan. In short, pinaasa lang (The supply of COVID-19 vaccine is not enough. But because of the government’s announcement, many essential workers flocked to vaccination center, and many were not inoculated. In short, the government gave them false hope),” said Binay in a statement released on Friday (June 11).

“The government played a cruel joke on workers who desperately need to find work, get back to work to feed their families, or be protected while working,” he added.

Binay suggested for the government to turn over the vaccination to the private sector.

“Let them vaccinate their employees and give incentives for companies and employees. Let them buy vaccines directly from suppliers or manufacturers. Huwag nang idaan sa national government,” he added.

The former vice president said there seems to be “no sense of urgency and out of the box thinking” from the current administration.

Binay noted that the country has been under a state of emergency since last year.

“If we really want to re-open the economy, there should be no room for red tape and government control,” he said.

He urged the government to encourage and support private initiatives to get more vaccines and vaccinate more people.