MANILA, Philippines — The Department of the Interior and Local Government (DILG) is set to issue a show-cause order against Parañaque City Mayor Edwin Olivarez to explain the vaccination of actor Mark Anthony Fernandez despite not being on the government’s priority list.
DILG Undersecretary Epimaco Densing on Thursday said Olivarez has to answer for the actor’s vaccination since it is within his command responsibility.
“Ipapalabas na natin, hopefully this afternoon, ang show-cause order kay Mayor Edwin Olivarez para magpaliwanag siya,” he said during the Laging Handa public briefing.
(We will issue, hopefully this afternoon, the show-cause order against Mayor Edwin Olivarez for him to explain.)
“Command responsibility niya ang pagsisigurado na ang ating vaccination plan ay nasunod sa kanyang local na gobyerno,” he added.
(It is within his command responsibility to ensure that the vaccination plan is followed within his locality.)
According to the country’s vaccination priority groups, frontline healthcare workers are the first to be immunized against COVID-19, followed by senior citizens and people with comorbidities.
Olivarez earlier explained that Fernandez has comorbidities which qualified him to be prioritized in the government’s COVID-19 priority list.
Mayor Edwin Olivarez. INQUIRER FILE PHOTO / NIÑO JESUS ORBETA
However, Densing said this is just a made-up excuse to justify the actor’s jumping of the line for vaccination.
“Excuse na lang nila ‘yun nung nalaman, lumabas sa balita na nakapagpalusot sila ng non-priority individual. Gumawa na lang sila ng rason,” he said.
(That is just their excuse since the news got out. They only made up an excuse.)
Densing said he received information that other individuals, including government employees, who are not in the priority list also got vaccinated.
If the local government’s vaccination needed “substitute vaccinees” if health workers are not available, these substitutes should have been picked from the priority list, such as senior citizens, Densing said.
“Kapag sinabing priority list, kapag hindi available ‘yung babakunahan, yung substitue dapat nandoon din sa priority individuals. Hindi sila dapat tumalon sa labas,” he said.
(If those on the priority list are not available, the substitute vaccinees should have been sourced from the priority list also.)
“Instead na senior citizen ang kanilang sinunod, hindi nila ito ginawa, di sila nagpo-provide ng listahan kung sino o ilan ang substitute. Nagiging kaduda duda tuloy diyan either nagpalakasan, o nagkabayaran,” he added.
(Instead of giving the vaccines to senior citizens, they did not do it. They also did not provide a list of who or how many are their substitutes. It became suspicious.)
President Rodrigo Duterte earlier ordered the Department of Health to investigate the COVID-19 vaccination of an actor, which was believed to be Fernandez.