Senate President Vicente C. Sotto III slammed Tuesday, Jan. 25 the Department of Transportation (DOTr) for adopting a ‘’no vaccination, no ride’’ rule which ‘’disguises as a health policy but in reality it forces one to get vaccinated.’’
Sotto’s criticism was contained in privilege speech that he did not deliver because he wanted other more important bills to be taken up since the Senate has limited time to act on as the election campaign approaches. Its was submitted to the Senate secretariat to be recorded.
The Senate chief said there is no law in the country that mandates vaccination.
‘’All the vaccines presently available are under emergency use authorization (EUA), hence still under experimentation. Under the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights, which the Philippines is a signatory to, we have the right to freely consent to medical experimentation,’’ he said.
‘’Thus, the government should not coerce nor discriminate, rather it should respect the choice of some Filipinos who opted not to get vaccinated for one reason or another,’’ he added.
Sotto cited a statement of the World Health Organization that ‘’we are nowhere near over the pandemic.’’
He said that health and safety protocols have been placed here and there; lockdowns have been implemented; and laws have been swiftly but painstakingly enacted.
‘’Yet record breaking COVID-19 cases have been seen recently; vaccination rate remains to be low; and concerns on human rights violations on the implementation of some government policies arose,’’ he pointed out.
Sotto cited a January, 2022 DOTr order “Limiting Public Transportation Access to Vaccinated Population in the National Capital Region under Alert Level No. 3 or Higher.”
He said this department order has given rise to questions, inconvenience, confusion, and, worst, discrimination against certain individuals.
‘’And sadly, this happened in a situation where uncertainties and fear already exist, and simply going about life as usual is tiring. Mas pinalala nito ang sitwasyong mahirap na nga para sa mga nakararami (This made the situation worse, particularly to the majority).
Sotto said the DOTr disregarded the fact that even vaccinated persons may be carrier of virus too and not considered immune from COVID-19.
‘’How about those who are COVID-19 survivors and could possibly have higher antibodies than the vaccinated, did the DOTr take this into account? I don’t think so,’’ he added.
The Senate chief said that the DOTr order is discriminating against those who are unvaccinated.
He pointed out that the brunt of the policy is mostly felt by the poor Filipinos and the working public who are the regular commuters.
‘’It is called “public utility vehicles” or “public transportation” for a reason. It is exactly for the use of the public. But why are we choosing a certain group over the other who can ride these PUVs?,’’ he asked.
He cited Section 12 of Republic Act No. 11525, otherwise known as the “COVID-19 Vaccination Program Act,” specifically states that “the vaccine cards shall not be considered as an additional mandatory requirement for educational, employment and other similar government transaction purposes.”
‘’But why is the DOTr requiring vaccination card before one person can access public transportation, especially those owned by the government?’’ he asked.