Negros Occidental Governor Eugenio Jose Lacson is not in favor of proposals to impose sanctions against local government units (LGUs) with low vaccination turnout against coronavirus disease (Covid-19).

Lacson was reacting to the announcement made by President Rodrigo Duterte that he has ordered the Department of the Interior and Local Government (DILG) to sanction LGUs and local chief executives not performing well in relation to the government’s Covid-19 vaccination program.

Lacson said that it should be checked first what is the reasons why a specific LGU has a low turnout of vaccination before imposing sanctions.

He stressed that it is only now that vaccine allocations from the national government have increased.

Negros Occidental currently has 25 percent vaccination rate out of the of 1.8 million Negrenses targeted for vaccination to reach herd immunity.

The provincial government has encouraged LGUs to be creative in their ways to encourage their respective constituents to get themselves vaccinated.*