MABALACAT City Mayor Cris Garbo said he agreed to inoculate workers inside Clark Freeport as gratitude for the revenues the City Government gets from Clark locators.
"It's like giving back the services for our shares on income [in Clark]," the mayor said.
Garbo recently met with a group of Pampanga newsmen in Clark Freeport and disclosed the local government's vaccination program.
The mayor also said he takes responsibility for the vaccination of Clark workers because thousands of them are Mabalacat residents or staying and renting houses in the city.
"All of these workers are part of our herd immunity target," the official added.
Garbo also belied claims that the City Government is slow in terms of vaccination because it prioritizes transients and workers in Clark Freeport.
The local chief executive clarified that the vaccines the City Government uses in jabbing Clark workers come from the Inter-Agency Task Force for the Management of Emerging Infectious Diseases.
Vince Dizon, testing czar and head of the Bases Conversion and Development Authority, asked the local government to assist the National Task Force in vaccinating Clark Freeport employees, according to Garbo.
"That is not true, the problem with them is that they don't have the figure. If you tell me that I am mabagal, you tell me the figure. Why did you say that I am mabagal, you compare me to other cities. You should have a basis [on your allegations]," Garbo said.
Mabalacat maintains at least seven inoculation centers all over the city, according to Garbo.
The mayor said he is targetting to vaccinate 190,000 to 200,000 individuals at the end of September up to the first week of October to achieve herd immunity.
As of September 2, Garbo said 152,000 residents had received their first dose of Covid-19 vaccines.
He added more than 60,000 individuals living and working in the city are fully vaccinated.