Santa Rosa City lone district Rep. Dan Fernandez (PPAB)

A veteran lawmaker in the House of Representatives said the national government must respect the rights of anti-vaxxers, or people who refuse to be vaccinated based on their personal preferences.

“Their rights to their own health is their prerogative. Problema nila yun, hindi na natin problema yun (That's their problem, it's not our problem). So don't force our people to get vaccinated,” said Santa Rosa City lone district Rep. Dan Fernandez.

Fernandez made this appeal during the joint hearing of the Committees on Human Rights and on Public Order and Safety on Tuesday, June 11, regarding the alleged “excess deaths” during the Covid-19 pandemic.

“The government should create a new protocol that will protect both rights—of those who want to be vaccinated and those who do not want to be vaccinated,” he said.

While the Laguna congressman said he respects the urgency of getting people vaccinated during the pandemic, he said strict health measures violated the human rights of Filipinos. 

“For example, yung (the) lockdowns, forced vaccination. We don't want that to happen again,” he noted.

In 2021, the Commission on Human Rights (CHR) said that violation of human rights and dignity—such as restricting the movement of unvaccinated people, for example—contradicts the ultimate goal of protecting the people from the pandemic.

In the same hearing, Fernandez also shared his concern regarding the so-called mind conditioning of those who belong to the “global elites”.

“Ngayon sasabihin nila Ted [Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus], WHO (World Health Organization), (Now, Ted, WHO is saying) prepare for the next pandemic, prepare for the next virus, as if they are already conditioning the minds of our people in the whole world that a next pandemic is about to come,” he said.

“We, in the Congress, we just have to be prepared, especially kapag yung human rights na ang nava-violate (especially when human rights are being violated),” he added. 

Meanwhile, Manila 6th district Rep. Bienvenido Abante said religious beliefs were among the rights violated during the pandemic.

Abante, chairman of the House Committee on Human Rights, pointed out that about 90 percent of Covid-19-related deaths resulted in cremation, which is not allowed by certain religions.

“Why should there be cremation always sa lahat ng mga pasyente, mayaman yan o mahirap, kini-cremate yan. Wala kayong pagpipilian (for all patients, rich or poor, they are cremated. You have no choice.) It means this, our religious convictions have even been violated. Because there are religions here, like the Baptist Church, that do not believe in cremation,” the veteran lawmaker from Manila said. 

“Is that not a human rights violation? Clearly, it is,” he stressed.

Abante said a hospital director had told him that funeral parlors have the authority on the cremation of the body, not the hospital itself.

With this, he seeks to invite owners of funeral parlors in the next hearing to find out “why are they cremating and where did they get the rule that they should absolutely be cremated”.

“We would invite them to come to shed light on this issue,” noted Abante.