The restrictions that were recently implemented to curb the mobility of the unvaccinated individuals in the country have forced more people to get inoculated in the provinces, the League of Provinces of the Philippines (LPP).
In a news briefing, LPP president and Marinduque Gov. Presbitero Velasco Jr. welcomed this development as he expressed optimism that the provinces will reach their target of herd immunity in the coming weeks.
“Pero tumataas na nga ho yung target, nagiging 90 percent so marami pa rin pong babakunahan. So ito lang masasabi po natin, full support po ang mga LGUs (local government units) sa bakunahan program po ng gobyerno (But the target has been raised, it is now 90 percent so there are a lot of people that need to be vaccinated. This is what we can say, the LGUs fully support the national government’s vaccination program),’’ Velasco said.
When pressed on the sudden interest in the inoculation, Velasco stressed that the unvaccinated people realized the effects of the restrictions on their mobility that convinced them to relent to the government’s call for them to get the jab.
On the controversy that limits the movement of the unvaccinated, Velasco said that the LGUs should pass ordinances for its implementation as they have the “delegated legislative power’’ to do so.
“Alam niyo naman po yung ating movements or mobility ng mga tao ay nakapaloob po yan diyan sa ating Constitutional right of travel or freedom of movement. Pero may mga exceptions naman po yun at yung nga po yung public health or public safety (You know that the movement or mobility of the people is embedded here in our Constitutional right to travel or freedom of movement. But there are exceptions and that is public health or public safety),’’ he added.
“Mabuti po talaga mag issue ng ordinansa at kailangan po yan para may legal basis yung ating mga Sangguniang Bayan at municipal mayors sa pagpalabas ng ganyang mga restrictions at minsan po ay napapatawan rin po ng fine yan (It is really proper to issue the ordinance and that is necessary for the Sangguniang Bayan and mayors to have the legal basis in passing those restrictions and sometimes fines are imposed in them),’’ Velasco explained.
The LPP chief also emphasized that initially Marinduque had imposed strict regulations on the entry of non-residents in the province, especially travelers coming from the alert level 3 areas.
He noted that the visitors are required to present RT-PCR or antigen tests obtained within three days prior to their travel before gaining entry.
But this does not end there, Velasco pointed out that the visitors after presenting the document will still be subjected to medical examinations if they have symptoms and will be placed in an isolation facility before getting through.
Inside the province, Velasco said that the temporary treatment and monitoring facilities (TTMF) are being carefully prepared with the barangay officials monitoring the condition of those in home quarantine assuring that they are only the ones inside and not leaving the house.
As part of their tasks, the barangay officials will conduct inspections of those who still have COVID-19 symptoms.
“Alam niyo naman yung ibang kababayan ay hindi po nagsasabi kung may sakit o sintomas at ito rin ho ay baka akala ordinaryong flu lang kaya po hindi sila talaga nagpapatest. So monitoring at sinasabi po namin (barangay officials) na mag inspect na rin po sa bahay bahay sa kanilang territoryo (You know some of our townmates do not reveal if they are sick or have symptoms and they might dismiss them as ordinary flu that is why they do not want to get tested. So tell them to go monitoring and conduct house to house inspection in their territories),’’ Velasco noted. (Chito Chavez)