Manila Mayor Francisco “Isko Moreno” Domagoso on Wednesday, Jan. 19, bared his plan to use the Manila Bay Walk Dolomite beach as a vaccination site.
This comes at the heels of the recent vaccination of minor and senior populations held at the newly-renovated Manila Zoo as part of the city's novel plan to vaccinate and give vaccinees the chance to see nature and breathe fresh air in a controlled environment.
“Kung feasible, bakit hindi? That’s a very good idea. Tapos na ba ‘yung construction nila, safe ba sa mga tao? ‘Yun naman ang concern natin palagi eh, ‘yung safety ng mga tao (If it’s feasible, why not? That’s a very good idea. Is their construction finished, is it safe for the people? That is our concern always, the safety of the people),” Domagoso said during the opening of the Manila Zoological and Botanical Garden on Wednesday, Jan. 19.
“Pansinin nyo, kapag pumipili tayo ng lugar, secluded halos lagi ‘yung mga lugar. Geographically feasible sa gagawing function doon sa particular na action plan, Pero okay ‘yun, bakunahan sa dolomite (If you will notice, everytine we choose a place, they are almost always secluded and geographically feasible for the function eyed in that particular action plan. It will be vaccination at the dolomite),” he added.
The Manila Bay Walk Dolomite Beach, also known as Dolomite Beach, is an artificial beach along Roxas Boulevard in Manila. It was reopened to the public on Dec. 28 and Dec. 29, 2021 and again on Jan. 4, 2021 onwards.
Domagoso appealed again to those who are still unvaccinated to get their jab, and for the fully vaccinated, to get their booster shots.
Vaccination facilities in the city are open to both residents and non-residents of Manila, he said.
While unvaccinated workers are exempted from the “no vaccination, no ride” policy, Domagoso reminded them that they should not use it as an excuse to not get the vaccine.
“Pipilitin nating unawain ang mga tao, abutin ang tao hanggang kaya natin. But at the end of the day, you have to decide. Kasi, you have to be responsible to others. As a citizen, meron ka ring responsibilidad sa iyong pamayanan, sa iyong bansa. Hindi lang gobyerno ang may responsibilidad sa tao (We will try to understand them, reach out to them as much as we can. But at the end of the day, you have to decide. Because, you have to be responsible to others. As a citizen, you also have a responsibility to your community, to your country. It is not only the government that is responsible to the people),” Domagoso said.
He added that the opening of several vaccination sites in the city has resulted in a high vaccination record, with 23,676 persons vaccinated on Jan. 17.