After testing positive for Covid-19, President Ferdinand "Bongbong" Marcos Jr. urged local government units (LGUs) to conduct large-scale immunization drives to booster-up school children ahead of the government's plan to resume face-to-face classes later this year.
Marcos said this in a video message to newly elected governors and city mayors on July 8.
In his message, the President expressed hope that the local officials would participate in this endeavor so children could safely return to school by either August or September.
Marcos said Vice President and Education Secretary Sara Duterte is planning a phased return to in-person face classes, starting from two- to three-day class schedules per week.
If the massive vaccination drive becomes successful, the President said the government could allow children to return to full face-to-face classes and open the rest of the economy, which Marcos said could signal to the rest of the world that the Philippines is opening up for business.
“Gawin natin itong booster rollout at makakatiyak tayo wala nang lockdown at ayaw na ayaw na naming magkaroon ng lockdown (Let's support the booster rollout and we can be sure that we won't be having lockdowns and we don't like that in the first place)," Marcos said.
"Kaya’t ito naman ang magiging pang-counter natin diyan sa pagkalat na naman nitong (This is how we can counter the spread of) Omicron and its variants," he added.
President Marcos asked the local officials to help agencies replicate the massive Covid-19 vaccine rollout conducted last year and praised them for the "very, very good job."
Meanwhile, Marcos floated the idea of relaxing the alert level and making face masks optional. However, he said they would only implement the latter once they were sure it would be safe.
"Although so far maganda naman ang takbo, hindi naman napupuno ang mga ospital. Ngunit kung hindi tayo maingat, mapupunta na naman tayo doon (Although things are running smoothly and hospitals are not full, we might all end up there if we're not careful)," he said.
Among the highlights of Friday's event include the briefing presentation by the Department of the Interior and Local Government on LGU's efforts on booster administration, the Department of Education's presentation on the resumption of face-to-face classes, and the Department of Health's (DOH) plan on vaccination mobilization.
Marcos did not physically attend the event as he is in isolation following his recent Covid-19 diagnosis. Malacañang said his condition is improving.