Priority list for vaccination program widens in judiciary

MANILA, Philippines–Justices, judges, and court personnel, the frontline government workers in the justice sector are finally included in the priority list for COVID-19 vaccination program.

“I am pleased to inform you that our request for inclusion in priority population group A4 (category A4) of the Philippine National Deployment and Vaccination Plan for COVID-19 Vaccines has been granted by the National Task Force Against COVID-19 (NTF),” Senior Associate Justice Estela Perlas-Bernabe said.

Bernabe, who was then acting-chief justice has sent a letter request to the National Task Force Against COVID-19 last March 31 asking that it consider the officers and personnel in the judiciary as frontline government workers as well.

“The Judiciary is an essential institution in the justice sector that works hand-in-hand with the executive branch of government to effectively perform its task of maintaining peace and order and safeguarding public welfare in accordance with the rule of law. Truly, during this unsettling pandemic, upholding the rule of law assumes greater significance. Thus, access to judicial relief should be constant,” she said.

High Court’s Public Information Chief and Spokesperson Atty. Brian Keith Hosaka said the vaccination would benefit roughly 30,000 court workers.

Category A4 are frontline personnel in essential sectors both in public and private sectors, including uniformed personnel, and those in working sectors identified by the Inter-Agency Task Force for the Management of Emerging Infectious Diseases (IATF) that are directly client-facing and cannot dutifully meet minimum public health standards.

Bernabe said the courts is one of the five (5) pillars of the criminal justice system, thus, “judiciary employees should be considered as workers in an essential public sector who are likewise directly client-facing and cannot dutifully meet minimum public health standards.”

The court remains in operation despite existing community quarantines.

“With the NTF’s favorable action on our request, the details of implementation shall be immediately worked out in order to swiftly roll out the inoculation program soonest, ” she said.

JPV