A DOH Nurse deployed at City Health Office administers the COVID-19 vaccine to Mayor Alfred S. Romualdez after the screening and assessment by acting City Health Officer Dr. Gloria Fabrigas. PHOTO FROM ROMUALDEZ’ FACEBOOK (FILE)
MANILA, Philippines — Senator Sherwin Gatchalian has called on local government officials to make sure there would be no “palakasan system” in their COVID-19 vaccination campaign.
This comes after reports that some local government executives and personalities have been jumping the COVID-19 vaccine priority line.
“Palakasan kasi ang nangyayari dito sa atin. Habang kulang pa ang suplay ng bakuna, unahin na muna natin ang medical frontliners,” Gatchalian said in a statement Wednesday.
(What’s happening in our country is that there’s a patronage system. While we still have a limited supply of vaccines, let’s just make our medical frontliners the priority for now.)
The Department of the Interior and Local Government (DILG) has already issued separate show-cause orders against 13 local government officials for skipping the COVID-19 vaccine priority hierarchy.
“Sakaling magkasakit o mabawasan ang mga medical frontliners, mapipilayan tayo. Hindi naman pwedeng gumamot ang mga mayors at governors kung nabigyan na sila ng bakuna,” the senator went on.
(When medical frontliners fall sick or if we lose them, our health system will be crippled. Our mayors and governors who have been vaccinated cannot take over and treat patients.)
“Nauunawaan ko ang papel na ginagampanan ng mga lokal na opisyal. Ako man ay may mga kamag-anak na naninilbihan sa local level ngunit sa panahon ng pandemya, mas kailangan natin ang mga health care workers,” he added.
(I recognize the role being played by local officials. Even I have relatives serving at the local level but in this time of a pandemic, we need health care workers more.)
Gatchalian urged local government units to be more compassionate to healthcare workers, senior citizens, and persons with comorbidities, who are at the top of the coronavirus vaccination priority list.
He pointed out that the sensitivity of the current situation makes it more urgent to prioritize these groups considering the limited supply of COVID-19 jabs in the country.
“Pagdating naman ng July, ‘pag dumagsa na ‘yung vaccines, kahit mauna na ‘yung mga mayor, governors, at barangay leaders,” he added.
(When July comes, the vaccines will arrive in bulk, then our mayors, governors and barangay leaders can even be the first to get vaccinated.)
Gatchalian noted that governors, mayors, and barangay captains have been moved up to the A4 category from their previous classification of B3, which pertains to other essential workers.
The DILG said a total of 1,715 governors and mayors and 42,046 barangay captains were elevated to the A4 classification, the senator added.
The A4 group includes frontline personnel in essential sectors such as uniformed personnel and those identified by the Inter-Agency Task Force for the Management of Emerging Infectious Diseases as essential during the imposition of the enhanced community quarantine.