The list of the unvaccinated persons in 12 of the country’s 17 regions is now with the Department of the Interior and Local Government (DILG).

This was revealed by DILG Secretary Eduardo Año as he stressed that the list will be used to refocus the vaccination strategy to the barangays that lag behind in the inoculation scheme.

“Ito’y (the list) magiging basis natin ngayon para mabigyan pansin yung mga nasa listahan na hindi pa nabakunahan . Karamihan dito nasa lugar na malalayo so ito rin ang magiging strategy natin kung paano mapaaabot ang bakuna rito (The list will now be our basis to give attention to the list of the. Most of them are in secluded places so this will be our strategy on how to deliver the vaccines in these areas),’’ Año explained.

On Feb. 2, Año disclosed that he had a meeting with the LGUs where the vaccination performances of the leading and tail ending localities were presented to the governors, mayors and their representatives.

“Binigyan natin sila ng target goals kung ilan yung babakunahan, ang ating BARMM (Bangsamoro Autonomous Region for Muslim Mindanao) naman nakikita natin na nagiimprove ano. Dati nasa less 10 percent (vaccination rate) lang sila, na ngayon nasa 30 percent na sila (We gave them target goals on the number that should be inoculated, our BARMM showed improvement. Previously, they were at 10 percent only but they are now at 30 percent),’’ he noted.

He pointed out that the government will provide the appropriate “focus’’ on the areas with low vaccination rates where additional volunteers will be dispatched and more vaccines will be delivered.

Most importantly the national government’s support will be on hand specifically by the Armed Forces of the Philippines (AFP), Philippine National Police (PNP) and Bureau of Fire Protection (BFP) in ensuring the prompt and safe delivery of the vaccines.

Earlier, the Commission on Human Rights (CHR) called on the barangay officials that the inventory of their unvaccinated constituents should not compromise the people’s right to privacy.

“We cannot use the present pandemic as a justification to set aside pertinent laws and human rights standards meant to protect human rights and dignity in all situations and at all times,” CHR spokesperson Jacqueline Ann de Guia told GMA News.

Further, Año stated that the government will relentlessly pursue the massive information campaign on the importance of being protected against the virus through the COVID-19 jab with the goal of also raising public trust on the vaccine.

Año in an interview over ABS-CBN said that there will be a National Vaccination Day Part 3 scheduled on Feb. 10 and 11 where the target is to provide primary doses to two million people and booster shots to four million individuals.

He urged the public to support the third offing of the National Vaccination Day for their safety and protection.

The DILG chief noted that the target vaccine jabs in Metro Manila is one million consisting of the primary series and boosters shots with the area now under Alert Level 2.

With Metro Manila and six other provinces only under Alert Level 2, Año emphasized that the “no vax, no ride’’ policy on the use of public transport and limiting the movement of the unvaccinated persons remain in effect in Alert Level 3 locations.

He admitted that these restrictions in Alert Level 3 areas have helped a great deal in the number of individuals who are now willing to be vaccinated against COVID-19. (Chito A. Chavez)