President Duterte has directed village officials to restrict the movement of unvaccinated Filipinos in their respective jurisdictions.
In his taped public address aired on late Tuesday night, Jan. 4, Duterte said those who haven’t received the coronavirus disease (COVID-19) vaccine should not be allowed to go out of their homes.
“Barangay captains, you’re put on notice and the order for you is to find out the persons who are not compliant with the laws, or their refusal to have the vaccines. You can actually prevent from leaving the house,” he said.
If the unvaccinated insist on going out, the President stressed they should be escorted by authorities.
“If you force the issue, I said, because the barangay captain is a person of authority, he can place you under arrest and dalhin ka sa istasyon (bring you to the station),” he added.
The Chief Executive described being jailed as a very unsavory experience due to the poor hygiene at the police stations.
If a police is present, the barangay captain can ask them to arrest the unvaccinated individual who insist on going out of their homes.
READ: Duterte calls vaccinated Pinoys 'heroes'; the unvaccinated, 'pangit'
“Pero pag walang pulis (But if there’s no police), as a person in authority you can now use reasonable force,” Duterte told the barangay chiefs.
The President is also encouraging Filipinos to get vaccinated by telling them that they're on their own if they get sick from COVID-19.
“Kung mamamatay ka, bahala ka sa sarili mo (If you die, you're on your own),” he said.
“Ngayon kung hihingi kayo ng tulong sa akin, sabihin ko hindi ako tulong sayo. Kasi hindi ka nagpabakuna. Kung nagpabakuna ka wala na akong problema at saka wala ka ng problema (Now, if you ask help from me, I will say I will not help you. Because you didn’t get vaccinated. If you got vaccinated, I do not have a problem and you do not have a problem),” Duterte added.
The Chief Executive reiterated that the “best defense” against COVID-19 was to get vaccinated.
READ: Duterte says he'd favor making COVID vaccination mandatory; here's why
“No offense sa inyo, pero (to you, but), which is the reality ever present in the situation in the environment, malaki ang tsansa na kapag mahawa ka, talagang mamatay ka (there is a big chance that if you get infected you will die),” he warned.
On Tuesday, Jan. 4, the country logged 5,434 new cases of COVID-19, the highest in over two months or since Oct. 23.
The 26.2 percent positivity rate is the highest since Sept. 15.
The new surge is purportedly fueled by the highly transmissible Omicron variant.