Mandatory vaccination of workers in certain sectors pushed

A resident in Vigan City, Ilocos Sur gets a COVID-19 jab in a vaccination facility.  (Photo courtesy of Vigan city government)

MANILA, Philippines – Presidential Adviser for Entrepreneurship Joey Concepcion is pushing for the mandatory vaccination of workers in certain sectors and stressed that “there is no such thing as discriminatory.”

 “Yes, especially with [Labor] Secretary [Silvestre] Bello, I texted him and suggested that all the restaurants, spas, etc. only accepting fully vaccinated customers, their employees must be vaccinated. Now, the challenge is what do you do when a waiter doesn’t want to get vaccinated? So they’ll have to put them at the side,” Concepcion said in an interview on ABS-CBN News Channel.

“So this is an area that, to me, has to be mandated in certain sectors like schools. I mean, to me, there’s no such thing as discriminatory,” he added.

Presidential Adviser for Entrepreneurship Joey Concepcion. (Philippine Daily Inquirer / file photo)

Concepcion likewise called on the government to find a way to enforce mandatory vaccination in certain sectors.

“Clearly restricting the movement of the unvaccinated is protecting their own life and we can see in the hospitals, 75% of those in those in hospitals are unvaccinated,” Concepcion said.

“So the strategy is really to really push vaccination—we will have to have a way of enforcing it. Everybody in the world is now changing that mindset, and really pushing a lot and even mandating vaccinations, especially in government,” he added.

The Department of Health (DOH) earlier said that vaccination against COVID-19 should not be made a requirement for employment or to keep one’s job.

DOH Undersecretary Ma. Rosario Vergeire said that while they are encouraging the public to get vaccinated and protect themselves against COVID-19, vaccination is not mandatory under the law.

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