PHILIPPINE National Police (PNP) Chief Guillermo Eleazar on Wednesday, August 4, 2021, urged an anti-vaccine group planning to stage a protest action to drop their plans.
“Our right to hold protest actions ends when the right of the most number of our kababayan to be safe from Covid-19 starts,” he said during a townhall session Wednesday on the upcoming lockdown in Metro Manila.
He said they were monitoring the group to determine whether their actions violate existing laws.
“While we respect the right of the people to freedom of expression and even the decision of some people to refuse vaccination, (but) encouraging our kababayan to do something that would compromise public health is a different matter,” Eleazar said.
Metro Manila, or National Capital Region, will revert to enhanced community quarantine (ECQ) on August 6 to 20 to reduce mobility and stem transmission of coronavirus disease 2019 (Covid-19) caused by the highly contagious Delta variant.
Interior and Local Government Secretary Eduardo Año said that while they are looking at a stricter ECQ this time, they are open to suggestions from the private sector on how the lockdown can be carried out while minimizing the social and economic impact.
He expressed gratitude to the private sector for actively engaging with the local government units in the fight against Covid-19 by procuring vaccines, inoculating their workers and implementation of the PDITR (prevent, detect, isolate, treat and reintegrate) strategy in their workplaces. (Third Anne Peralta-Malonzo / SunStar Philippines)