The Philippine National Police (PNP) urged on Monday, Jan. 24, all parents to be refrain from tagging along their unvaccinated minor children in public places amid the continuous threat of the coronavirus disease (COVID-19).
PNP chief Gen. Dionardo Carlos made the appeal as some policemen reported that they have been facing difficulty in dealing with unvaccinated children who are with their parents while in public places and blending with a lot of people.
Carlos insinuated that their hands are tied in implementing the policy to restrict unvaccinated minors since the protocol of Inter-Agency Task Force on the Management of Emerging Infectious Diseases (IATF-MEID) under COVID Alert Levels 2 and 3 allows them to travel outside.
“It has been a challenge among our police personnel who are conducting regular monitoring of public places. We see children along with their parents or guardians, blending with people in crowded places,” said Carlos.
“We respect the decision of parents to bring their children outside their homes when attending to essential activities, but adhering to the minimum public health standard should be paramount for the safety of children,” he added.
Carlos, however, said they respect the decision of Local Government Units to prevent minors from going inside establishments.
Pediatric inoculation may be ongoing, but a huge number of minors are still waiting for their turn to get their jab, so caution is still a must.