Cebu City willing to be probed on giving perks to vaccinated people

CEBU CITY––The city government is open to the investigation of the Department of Interior and Local Government (DILG) on the policy granting exclusive perks to vaccinated individuals.

Councilor Joel Garganera, deputy chief implementer of the city’s Emergency Operations Center (EOC), emphasized that there is no discrimination against non-vaccinated persons because they are allowed to dine alfresco.

In restaurants, customers are asked to present their vaccination cards if they want to dine indoors. If they do not have their cards, they will be ushered to outdoor tables.

At salons and barber shops, vaccination cards also need to be presented before they are allowed entry and avail themselves of its services.

Garganera said the city government is looking for new strategies to step up the vaccination program to solve the continuing pandemic. He hoped that the DILG would listen to them in finding ways to innovate.

The government could not continuously give food packs when the strategy is a lockdown, the councilor said.

“We cannot sustain that. We have this sustainable strategy, why not try it?” said Garganera.

In a media interview in Manila, Año said he would investigate the Cebu City policy as this did not have approval from the country’s pandemic task force.

Garganera explained they consulted various sectors in the city on the policy. He said the majority of city residents warmly received the policy.

Meanwhile, Garganera said they were meeting with the Criminal Investigation and Detection group and other police officials in helping prevent any proliferation of fake vaccination cards in the city.

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