PRESIDENT Rodrigo Duterte said Tuesday, November 23, that unvaccinated individuals should not be allowed inside public restaurants and resorts, as they are putting other’s lives, especially those vaccinated, in danger.
“Kailangan talaga lahat mabakunahan. Ang mga ayaw, they should not be allowed inside public restaurants or resorts because they are a threat to public health and the safety of the general public,” he said during his Talk to the People Address.
“Threat to public health. Alam mo pagka ang sumatotal nitong sabihin mo public health. Anong public health? Public health 'yan kasi ang sabi ko ang dead end niyan is kamatayan. Dapat maintindihan ito ng mga kababayan natin: kailangan lahat ay magpabakuna,” he added.
Duterte also noted that employers have the right to turn down unvaccinated applicants.
“Sabihin mo ano pa may discrimination. Hindi naman ako iniinsulto 'yung relihiyon na you refuse it as a matter of a religious right. Wala akong ano except that kung ayaw ninyo, alam mo kung tanggapin kita kung ako 'yung employer at hahawain mo 'yung mga empleyado ko hanggang tuloy ang mga negosyo ko mahina kasi puro may sakit 'yung trabahante, idadamay mo ako,” he said.
“So ang rason diyan is hindi ako nagde-demonstrate ‘yang namimili mag- ano sa inyo discriminate. Kung hindi, pinoprotektahan ko 'yung negosyo ko. Just like in government, maybe if there's a law which says that all government employees must be vaccinated and those refusing must resign because this is a pandemic and we're trying to protect everybody, and we want to have a less sick people,” he added.
Duterte made the statement amid the continuous decline of Covid-19 cases in the country.
He said based on the record of the Department of Health (DOH), the positivity rate in the country went down from 3.4 percent on November 18 to 2.3 percent on November 23.
The DOH also noted the continuous decrease in the number of active Covid-19 cases in the country, from more than 23,000 last November 18 to only less than 19,000 on November 23.
“Salamat, sa awa ng Diyos, bumaba ang mga kaso. But we still have to follow health protocols being implemented by government if we really want to make a headway,” said Duterte.
“Ganoon ‘yan, ang awa ng Diyos kailangan sabayan mo nang pagsunod ng implementasyon sa protocols ng gobyerno. Kasi ang Diyos tingnan niya kung walang pagsunod ng protocols sa gobyerno, alisin niya ‘yung awa at maging kawawa tayo. Iyon ang pagkaalam ko sa Diyos ko,” he added.
The National Government earlier said the public no longer has the reason not to get vaccinated due to the efficient supply of vaccine doses in the country.
So far, over 134.4 vaccine doses have arrived in the country since February.
Starting December 1, employers may implement a “no work, no pay” policy to unvaccinated employees who are required to report onsite but could not because of their vaccination status.
The Inter-Agency Task Force (IATF) issued a resolution requiring onsite unvaccinated employees to undergo Covid-19 testing at least once every two weeks. (SunStar Philippines)