MANILA, Philippines — The Department of the Interior and Local Government (DILG) reported on Sunday that 42,493 persons deprived of liberty (PDLs) in Bureau of Jail and Management and Penology (BJMP) jails have received the COVID-19 vaccine.
The DILG said that the number is 35 percent of the 122,498 PDLs in various jail facilities managed by the BJMP across the country.
Of the 42,493 PDLs who were inoculated, 27,951 got their first dose, 7,473 had their second dose, and 7,069 received a single-dose COVID-19 vaccine.
“All in all, 14,542 PDLs already have complete doses and have full protection against COVID-19 and the vaccination program continues. Our goal is to have all PDLs in all our jail facilities vaccinated,” Interior Secretary Eduardo Año said in a statement.
Metro Manila has the highest number of fully vaccinated PDLs with 3,192, followed by Calabarzon (Cavite, Laguna, Batangas, Rizal, and Quezon) with 1,853, and Northern Mindanao with 1,747.
The DILG and the BJMP are coordinating with the National Vaccine Operations Center and local government units on the vaccine doses allotment and vaccination of PDLs and jail officers in 467 district, city, and municipal jails in the country, Año shared.
The DILG likewise mentioned that 12,568 BJMP personnel are fully immunized while 14,441 have received their first dose.
“Our PDLs are not and will never be second-class citizens and they, too, deserve to be protected from the virus. We will not stop until all PDLs under the DILG and the BJMP’s supervision are all vaccinated,” said Año.
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