President Duterte orders DOH to probe people jumping the line in gov’t vaccination drive
President Rodrigo Roa Duterte wants the vaccination of an actor in Paranaque City investigated, saying people jumping the line in the government mass immunization campaign may affect future vaccine donations.
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President
Rodrigo Roa Duterte talks to the people after holding a meeting with the
Inter-Agency Task Force on the Emerging Infectious Diseases (IATF-EID) core
members at the MalacaΓ±ang Golf (Malago) Clubhouse in MalacaΓ±ang Park, Manila on
March 24, 2021. KING RODRIGUEZ/ PRESIDENTIAL PHOTO
During a public address Wednesday, President Duterte ordered Health Secretary Francisco Duque III to investigate the incident in Paranaque City and submit a report to the Office of the Ombudsman.
“Kayo
na ang bahala mag-imbestiga nito. Then kung matapos na ito, let the --- your
legal office handle the… Or idiretso mo na lang sa --- make a report out of
that incident and idiretso mo na lang sa Ombudsman. Mas mabuti, mas madali,”
the President told Duque.
The
President noted that local officials and influential people jumping the
priority line have dismayed health workers who were supposed to be the first to
get the jab.
He
stressed that the government should strictly follow the priority list given by
the World Health Organization (WHO) and failure to do so might endanger the
supply of COVID-19 vaccines especially those donated by the WHO-led COVAX
facility.
“But
apparently this was not complied strictly. Eh ang mahirap nito ang nagbigay ang
WHO, ‘yong COVAX, eh donated ‘yan. So tinanggap natin knowing fully well that
we have to honor the conditions attached thereto,” he said.
“Sinabi
na sa atin ng country representative ng WHO, if you do not follow the list of
priority, you might lose the assistance of the WHO. It was made clear to us na
ganoon ang pagkasabi.”
Duque
said hospital heads and city health officers are responsible for controlling
the vaccines and may be held accountable.
President
Duterte named a number of local chief executives that were given show-cause
orders by the Department of the Interior and Local Government (DILG) for
getting the COVID-19 shot despite not being in the priority list.
The
local officials were Tacloban City Mayor Alfred Romualdez, Legazpi City Mayor
Noel Rosal, Bataraza, Palawan Mayor Abraham Ibba, and South Cotabato Mayors Dibu
Tuan and Sulpicio Villalobos.
Minglanilla,
Cebu Mayor Elanito PeΓ±a, Alicia Mayor Victoriano Torres, San Miguel Mayor
Virgilio Mendez, and Lila Mayor Arturo Piollo II.
The
President noted, however, that the excuse of those officials who argued that
they get the shot to alleviate the fear of their constituents should be studied
thoroughly.
“Medyo
gray area ‘yan na dapat talaga ang una ‘yong mga… Whether or not if they jumped
the COVID-19 line of vaccination would require a certain amount of a legal
study,” he said.
The
country’s 1.7 million frontline healthcare workers are on the top of WHO’s
priority list, followed by senior citizens and persons with comorbidities,
frontline personnel in essential sectors, uniformed personnel, and working
sectors identified by the Inter-Agency Task Force for the Management of
Emerging Infectious Diseases (IATF-EID).
Also
on the list are indigent population, teachers, social workers, government
workers and other essential workers, high-risk socio-demographic groups, and
indigenous people. PND
