President Duterte has advised unvaccinated individuals, especially the elderly, to stay home amid the rising cases of coronavirus disease (COVID-19) in the country.

According to the President, the unvaccinated should avoid leaving their houses until it is time for their vaccination against the virus.

"Yung mga elderly, ‘yung may medyo matatanda na, bedridden or wheelchair-bound, ‘wag na muna silang lumabas ang hindi na --- kung walang bakuna (The elderly, bedridden or wheelchair-bound, they should not go out if they are not yet vaccinated)," Duterte said during a televised address Monday, August 9.

"At saka na ‘yung mga tao na walang bakuna (And to the unvaccinated people), my suggestion is do not go out of the house until there is a facility where you can go to, to have your vaccines," he said.

The President explained that his stay-at-home comment to the unvaccinated was merely a suggestion. He tried to dispel criticisms that his government was to blame for the overcrowding in some vaccination sites

"Iyon ang --- ‘yun ang ano ko, payo ko. Iyang payo na ‘yan – ewan ko kung anong pina --- pagkaintindi nitong mga u*** na ‘to, pero iniba kaagad ang istorya, blaming government, the national government (That's my advice. I don't know how these fools understood it but they changed the story, blaming the national government)," he said.

In a televised address on July 29, the President told people who refused to get vaccinated not to go outdoors, or else risk getting escorted back home by cops and barangay officials.

Duterte sought to limit the movement of the unvaccinated, calling them "walking spreaders."

“Itong ayaw magpabakuna, ibigay na lang agad... doon na sa public, kung sino ang gusto. Ibigay natin sa iba para makatulong (To those who do not want to get vaccinated, give their shots to the public, those who are willing. Give it to them so we can help them out),” he said.

“Let’s give it to the people who want it. Those who do not want it, for all I care you can die anytime,” he added.

A few days later, thousands of people rushed to get coronavirus jabs and crowded a number of vaccination centers. The overcrowding in these vaccination hubs occurred a day before the hard lockdown was enforced in Metro Manila on August 6.

The Palace has denied that the President's statement caused the chaos reported in some vaccination sites.

Of more than 38 million doses of COVID-19 jabs received by the government, around 24 million doses have already been administered. From this number, 11.3 million people have been fully vaccinated so far.

As of August 9, the government reported 8,900 new COVID-19 cases, that pushed the total to 1,667,714. The country's death toll has reached 29,128.