The Department of Transportation (DOTr) said the exemption of essential workers from the “no vaccination, no ride” policy is not a new protocol enforced after the policy’s pilot implementation.
In a statement on Thursday, Jan. 20, the DOTR clarified that prior to the full implementation of the “no vax, no ride” policy last Monday, Jan. 17, the DOTr already publicly announced and published the exemptions a couple of days earlier.
As stated in the department order, those exempted from the “no vaccination, no ride” policy are the following:
_• Persons with medical conditions that prevent their full COVID-19 vaccination as shown by a duly-signed medical certificate with the name and contact details of their doctor.
_• Persons who will buy essential goods and services, such as but not limited to food, water, medicine, medical devices, public utilities, energy, WORK, and medical and dental necessities, as shown by a duly issued barangay health pass or other proof to justify travel.
These exemptions provided in the DOTr policy are in line with the IATF Guidelines on those who are allowed to work in essential industries under Alert Level 3.
Even before its full implementation, the DOTr also cascaded this information to enforcers on the ground.
Together with other concerned agencies, such as the Land Transportation Office (LTO), Inter-Agency Council for Traffic (I-ACT), Land Transportation Franchising and Regulatory Board (LTFRB), Philippine Coast Guard (PCG), PNP Highway Patrol Group (HPG), and NCR Police Office (NCRPO), the exemptions under the DO are continuously reiterated during their daily formation and deployment.
While the policy will only take effect as Metro Manila is on Alert Level 3 (or higher), the DOTr apologized for the inconvenience this may cause to the riding public.
This policy is not anti-poor, the agency underscored.
This was made to protect all – both the vaccinated and the unvaccinated – to safeguard the most vulnerable, unburden our healthcare system, and give our exhausted medical workers some space to breathe.
Medical experts warned that severe COVID-19 infections caused by non-vaccination result in an overwhelming of cases of hospitalization.
It creates more inconvenience, and it is even riskier if unvaccinated individuals will contract severe COVID-19 infections or even fatalities, amid the Omicron variant now infecting Filipinos at an alarming rate.
The policy is also in furtherance of the agency's mandate to provide a safe public transport system for the Filipino people.
If there is a surge of virus transmission in public transportation, we will be forced to shut it down, the DOTr warned.
The most affected will be those in the lower-income bracket who compose most public transportation users.