Pasay Mayor Emi Calixto-Rubiano on Thursday said she supports the proposal to inoculate children 12 to 17 years old to ensure their protection and their families from the coronavirus disease (COVID-19).

Rubiano said she is alarmed over reports of a spike in the number of children contracting COVID-19.

"Bilang isang ina, nag-aalala po ako sa kaligtasan ng ating mga anak kaya nanawagan ako sa lahat ng mga magulang na doblehin pa nila ang kanilang pag-aalaga sa mga bata (As a mother, I worry about the safety of our children. This is why I am appealing to parents to take good care of their children)," Rubiano said.

Rubiano said Private Hospitals Association Philippines (PHAPI) President Jose Rene de Grano said that aside from COVID-19, children are also being admitted in hospitals for dengue, typhoid, and flu.

"Talagang maraming bata din ang naapektuhan. Iyong pagka-test po for COVID-19], at nag-positive, talagang ika-classify na COVID 'yon," (There are many children affected. When tested positive for COVID-19, we already classify their cases as COVID) Grano said.

The Philippine General Hospital also noted the increasing number of children being infected with COVID-19.

Vaccine czar Sec. Carlito Galvez, Jr. said the vaccination of the 12–17 age group may start before the end of September or early October.

"We are trying to look at maybe, by the end of September or October, we will open up to adolescent vaccination," Galvez said.

"We will start from 12 to 17 (years old)," Galvez said, adding that they need 26 million doses of vaccines for the inoculation of adolescents in the country.

The Philippine Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has given an emergency use authorization to Pfizer-BioNTech vaccine for use on 12 to 17 years old.

Sinovac also applied to the FDA for the use of its vaccines on children and adolescents.

"Once that we have a supply of those vaccines, we can start. For as long as experts already allowed us to use these vaccines for 12 years and above or maybe three years and above," Galvez said.