Unvaccinated barangay captains should either resign or take a leave of absence from their posts, Department of the Interior and Local Government (DILG) Undersecretary for Barangay Affairs Martin Diño said on Sunday, Jan. 16.
Diño issued the warning as the DILG ordered the barangay officials to make an inventory of the unvaccinated individuals in their community and courteously lead them to their house if ever they are outdoors for non-essential purposes.
“Kung talagang hindi pa bakunado, puwede naman kayo (barangay captains) mag-resign o kaya magleave kayo hangga't di tapos ang COVID-19. Nakakahiya kayo. Biro ninyo, kayo magpapatupad ng batas tapos kayo pala 'di bakunado (If they are not yet vaccinated, you can resign or take a leave until COVID-19 is not over. You should be ashamed, you are the ones enforcing the law yet you are not inoculated)?’’ Diño said over Super Radyo dzBB.
Although unaware if there are still unvaccinated local officials, Diño said barangay officials who refuse to get vaccinated may get arrested.
Citing that the law applies to all, Diño warned that even barangay captains can be arrested pursuant to their local ordinances.
Earlier, Diño confirmed having requested all barangay captains to get the vaccine even going to the extent of installing a tarpaulin showing that they are being inoculated to serve as role models to their constituents.
Reports from the National Task Force against COVID-19 revealed that 54,457,863 individuals were already fully vaccinated against COVID-19, which is 70 percent of the nation’s eligible population. (Chito A. Chavez)