FILE PHOTO: Small bottles labeled with “Vaccine” stickers stand near a medical syringe in front of displayed “Coronavirus COVID-19” words in this illustration taken April 10, 2020. REUTERS/Dado Ruvic/Illustration
MANILA, Philippines — President Rodrigo Duterte’s threat of arrest against individuals who refuse to get inoculated against COVID-19 “is not without a constitutional basis,” according to his chief legal counsel on Wednesday.
Secretary Salvador Panelo said that since the country is under a state of national emergency due to the pandemic, the 1987 Constitution gave the government “sufficient” authority to manage the crisis, adding that while individual liberties are to be respected, the nation’s security is “paramount” and “must be fiercely protected.”
“Drastic times demand drastic measures. The Constitution has given sufficient authority to the government to manage the crisis even as it works vigorously towards achieving herd immunity while our people look forward to reaching it,” he said in a statement.
“The order of the President is not without any constitutional basis. Constitutional provisions on public health, by themselves, are operative and need no subsequent legislation for their enforcement,” he also explained.
Panelo cited Article 2, Sections 5 and 15 of the 1987 Constitution, saying “the maintenance of peace and order, the protection of life, and the promotion of the general welfare, among others, are essential to a democracy” and that the State should “protect and promote the right to health of the people and instill health consciousness among them.”
He also cited the Supreme Court (SC) ruling on the 2014 case of Imbong v. Ochoa, which questioned the legality of the Reproductive Health law.
The SC ruled that the provisions of the Constitution relating to the promotion of health are self-executory and do not need any enabling legislation.
Panelo’s remark, however, contradicted the statement of presidential spokesperson Harry Roque, who is also a lawyer. According to Roque, a law or local ordinance is needed to warrant the arrest of people who do not want to get the vaccine against the deadly COVID-19.
Duterte earlier threatened to have individuals who refuse to get COVID-19 vaccines arrested.