Isko Moreno not in favor of mandatory vaccination vs COVID-19
MANILA, Philippines — For Manila City Mayor Francisco “Isko Moreno” Domagoso, the prevailing voluntary COVID-19 vaccination policy is working well and should not be changed by making it mandatory.
Moreno, who aspires to become the next president via the May 2022 elections, told reporters on Thursday that the current system is successful. Thus, he noted, it would be better to just expand it than shake it.
“Successful naman ngayon eh, ito voluntary ‘to, ‘yong nangyayari ngayon,” he said in an ambush interview in Mabalacat, Pampanga. “In Manila, 140 (percent) na kami ah, 140 percent, 126 percent first dose, second dose. Nasa 80 percent na kami — remember the other day sinabi ko 70 percent ang 12 to 17, ngayon nasa 80 percent na kami in a matter of few hours lang, I mean 48 hours lumobo ulit.”
(What we are doing is successful, this voluntary arrangement, what is happening now. In Manila, we are at 140 percent for the first dose, 126 percent for the second dose. We are at 80 percent in terms of vaccinating minors ages 12 to 17, remember the other day we were just 70 percent, in a matter of few hours — around 48 hours, it ballooned again.)
“So ibig sabihin sumusunod na ‘yong tao eh. ‘Yon ‘yong sinasabi ko, ‘pag tama na ‘yong timpla, dapat lalong paramihin. ‘Wag nang baguhin ‘yong rekado. ‘Pag tama ‘yong direksyon, palawakin na,” he added.
(So this means people are already obeying. That’s what I’m saying, if we are already providing a good formula, we should replicate that. Let us not change the ingredients. When we are in the right direction, let us widen the scope.)
Besides, Moreno said, making COVID-19 vaccinations mandatory in office spaces and workplaces may be an additional burden to Filipinos, who should be given a chance to enjoy the holiday season.
“Tingin ko ‘wag na nating i-ano (mandatory). Pasayahin na lang natin ang tao, Pasko ngayon eh, ‘wag na nating pabigatin ‘yong buhay nila,” he claimed.
(I think we should not make it mandatory. Let us just make people happy during this Christmas season, let us not add burden to their lives.)
Last Monday, President Rodrigo Duterte said he is open to making COVID-19 vaccinations mandatory to ensure that people would be protected against the new coronavirus disease especially that infections were rising in other areas and amid the threat of a new SARS-CoV-2 variant named Omicron.
Under Duterte’s proposal, people who frequently go out should be vaccinated while those who refuse it should just stay home.
READ: Duterte open to making jabs mandatory; Cabinet mulls ‘pressuring’ the unvaccinated
But certain groups have deemed the mandatory COVID-19 vaccination as anti-poor and anti-worker, with organizations vowing to file cases should Duterte’s suggestions materialize.
READ: Suspension of resolutions on mandatory vaccination for on-site workers sought
READ: Group readying suit vs ‘coercive, discriminatory’ vax policies
According to Moreno, what needs attention are policies that should be fine-tuned or fixed because they are proven inefficient.
“Katulad niyan, national vaccination, tumulong ang mga lokal, ang laki no’ng reach. So iyon ‘yung [importante] more than anything else, of all the rules that we are going to implement,” Moreno explained.
(Like the national vaccination program, the local government helped, the reach increased. So that is what’s important more than anything else, of all the rules that we are going to implement.)
“Let us continue what is doing well, let’s stop what is not performing, and ‘yong hindi masyadong effective, let’s innovate and balance it, tapos dire-deretso lang ang approach,” he said.
(Let us continue what is doing well, let’s stop what is not performing, and for those that are not effective, let’s innovate and balance it, and then just carry on with the approach.)
As of November 29, around 35 million of the country’s over 110 million population have been fully vaccinated against COVID-19. Most of these vaccinated people are within Metro Manila, which has enjoyed high vaccination rates since most of the country’s vaccine stocks were deployed in the capital region’s cities.
More than 90 percent of the target population in Metro Manila had been fully vaccinated as of early November, but vaccination rates are still low – at around 10 percent – in some areas like the Bangsamoro Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao.
READ: Vax drive still off target but improves PH rank – DOH
