Gemma Parina, the unvaccinated street vendor who hurled invectives against government for implementing the highly controversial ‘no vax, no ride policy’, need not apologize for her video outburst that went viral on social media.
Presidential aspirant Sen. Manny Pacquiao made this comment as he pointed out that Parina merely protested in public what the poor feel about the deplorable condition they have to suffer amid the rampage of the COVID-19 pandemic.
Pacquiao, who owns a famous rags-to-riches story worldwide, said the street vendor stated what she and the millions of impoverished Filipinos feel for being punished instead of being convinced by government to get vaccinated.
The PROMDI and PDP-Laban (Pimentel wing) standard bearer had previously decried the policy of prohibiting the unvaccinated from using public transportation, saying it will adversely affect mostly the poor.
“As Aling Gemma expressed, it is the poor who are most affected by the no vaccine, no ride policy. Government should be more creative and compassionate in its covid response, so as not to aggravate the situation of our ordinary people,” he added.
“Sa sitwasyong ganito, lamang na lamang ang mayayaman at may kaya na may sariling sasakyan at di kailangang lumabas para maghanapbuhay, o umoorder na m ng kanilang pangangailangan. Papaano ang walang kakayanan? (In situations like these, the rich and well-to-do are always in the advantage because they have cars and they can always order their needs online. What about those who cannot?),” the senator stressed.
He also reminded government that under Section 12 of Republic Act 11525 or the Covid-19 Vaccinate Program Act, vaccination cards are not considered as additional “mandatory requirement for educational, employment, and other similar government transaction purposes.” “I’m calling on our LGUs, the DoTR, the DILG and other government offices to implement RA 11525 properly. Kahit di po ako abogado, malinaw na sinasabi sa batas na ito na bawal gawin na requirement ang vaccine cards sa mga government matters, kasama dito ang trasportation. Kaya bawal na pigilan sa pantalan o sa anumang public transportation ang mga wala pang vaccine.
( I am not a lawyer but the law clearly provides that the use of vaccine cards is not mandatory on government matters, including transportation. That is why it is unlawful to prevent unvaccinated people to have access to our ports or to any public transportation.),” the Mindanaoan lawmaker said.
He also pointed out that Section 2 of RA 11525 has also acknowledged the fact that the government’s vaccination program is experimental in nature and cannot guarantee its efficacy and safety, thereby validating apprehensions by people like Mrs. Parina to get vaccinated.
In an online video that went viral, and applauded by street vendors, Parina vented her anger on the government and the President for the restrictive policy. She, however, apologized for her outburst the next day. It was not clear who caused her to apologize but still called out on the anti-poor policies of the government.