PRESIDENT Rodrigo Duterte again appealed to all eligible citizens to get vaccinated against coronavirus disease 2019 (Covid-19) when the vaccine becomes available in their area.
He said he may invoke the police power of the state to compel the people, but he did “not want to advance this theory.”
“You know, I do not want to advance this theory but under the police power of the state, everybody can be compelled to be vaccinated. Not because we do not believe in your theory or belief or your religion but because you are a carrier and a danger to society. Iyan ang problema diyan. It’s between your belief maybe, your religion, eh there is a division of you know religion and state,” he said in his weekly Talk to the People Monday, September 27, 2021.
Duterte warned that he might have to invoke the state’s police power to prevent a “wildfire spread” of the disease.
“Because if everybody does not comply with the vaccines and we can have a widespread --- wildfire spread, then the police must go in and intervene in your private life so that you cannot be a danger to society,” he said.
On ordinary days, he said the government respects the rights of the people and does not intervene. But there is a pandemic.
Duterte hoped that new cases will continue to decline as he noted that the seven-day average of new cases has already decreased by 13 percent.
“So paano ko kayo ma-encourage? Paano ko...? Hindi naman ito takutan. Government does not instill fear. Government can appeal, government can talk, government can pray and hope that you will listen to the well- studied, pinag-aralan, hindi lang ng isang tao buong mundo ang mga scientists.
He urged members of the medical and legal community to avoid making comments that could affect decision-making of eligible vaccinees.
He stressed that he respects freedom of speech, but appealed to doctors and lawyers who are against the vaccine to “go by the almost general trend all over the world to get vaccinated.”
As of September 27, a total of 20,307,122 persons have been fully vaccinated while first dose inoculations have exceeded 23.6 million. More than 44 million doses have already been administered nationwide.
The fully vaccinated individuals constitute 26.33 percent of the eligible population.
In Metro Manila, the epicenter of the Covid-19 epidemic in the country, a total of 7,025,358 or 71.86 percent of the target population have been fully vaccinated.
Duterte said vaccination is a step towards normalcy and the easing of restrictions.
He estimated that pre-pandemic conditions would again be achieved in two to three years. But this could happen in less than three years if all eligible individuals get the vaccine. (Third Anne Peralta-Malonzo / SunStar Philippines)