“While the 1987 Constitution provides that liberty of movement can be restricted in the interest of national security, public safety, or public health, it still requires a law to make the said restriction legal.

“Presently, there is no law that makes being unvaccinated a crime, nor is there any law that would satisfy the Constitutional provision on curtailing freedom of movement.

“Any arrest made on these grounds may be illegal; thus, violative of the Constitution and our guaranteed human rights.”

These were stressed by the Commission on Human Rights (CHR) as it cautioned against President Duterte’s directive to restrict the movement of unvaccinated persons. The President also directed barangay chairmen to order their unvaccinated constituents to stay home.

Through Spokesperson Jacqueline Ann de Guia, the CHR said “any arrest without warrant goes against the guarantees of due process in the Constitution.”

She pointed out that “warrantless arrests can only be made under certain exemptions, including in flagrante delicto (in the act of committing/attempting to commit/has committed a crime) arrests; ‘hot pursuit’ arrests; and re-arrest of escaped prisoners.”

The present directive to arrest unvaccinated individuals on-the-spot does not satisfy the said exemptions, aside from the fact that, as mentioned, no crime is being committed.

The CHR then urged the government “to employ a human rights-based approach on the matter, wherein education on the importance of vaccinations will continue to be pursued; vaccine hesitancy, access, and supply will be addressed; and alternatives to arrests will be explored, including understanding why others insist on going out despite being unvaccinated and providing a win-win solution.”

“Ending the pandemic is a human rights concern. We stress that an effective pandemic response can and should maintain respect for human rights,” it added.