Barangay officials who could not restrict people unvaccinated against COVID-19 from going outside their homes may also be punished under law, an official of the Department of the Interior and Local Government said Sunday.
“We can file many cases against them—administrative, criminal, civil cases,” DILG Undersecretary Jonathan Malaya said in a Super Radyo dzBB interview.
This as another DILG official said the department is eyeing to make COVID-19 antigen testing for Filipinos free of charge amid the rising infections fueled by the more contagious Omicron variant.
“We will push hard to make the antigen testing free. I will make sure that this will be brought to the Inter-Agency Task Force,” DILG Undersecretary Martin Diño said during a virtual forum.
President Rodrigo Duterte on Thursday ordered barangay officials to direct persons yet to be vaccinated against COVID-19 to stay home amid the spike in infections.
On the other hand, Malaya said that barangay officials arresting unvaccinated individuals who insist on going out would only be a “last resort” and would be conducted “within the bounds of the law.”
“I know they are getting tired too but this is really the call of our duty. We need to do that to save our country from a more serious problem because of COVID-19,” he said.
Justice Secretary Menardo Guevarra also said unvaccinated persons who leave their homes without a valid reason under the ordinances of their local government units will only be arrested if they resist or fight with the persons in authority.
Malaya added there are no more barangay officials in Metro Manila who refuse to get vaccinated, but many of them still remain unvaccinated in provinces due to fear of a “zombie apocalypse” and their religious beliefs.
Meanwhile, the government on Sunday received 2.7 million doses of vaccines donated by the United States through the COVID-19 Vaccines Global Access (COVAX) Facility.
A total of 2,703,870 doses of the Pfizer-BioNTech vaccine arrived in Manila past 2 p.m. on Sunday afternoon. This brings the total number of vaccines delivered to the Philippines at 213,487,520.
Latest data available from the Department of Health (DOH) indicates that the country has so far administered a total of 110.089 million doses as of January 4, 2022.
This includes 57.254 million first doses, 50.627 million full vaccinations, and 2.207 million booster doses.
Meanwhile, Diño said the government is already looking into allowing antigen testing at home and the Department of Health (DOH) is set to release the policies for this by next week.
He expects that the price or demand for the antigen testing may increase in the next coming days as it is cheaper compared to other tests.
Diño stressed that the public should also make use of the free COVID-19 testing offered in various government hospitals.
The DOH on Friday said the government will not adopt mass testing as a strategy against COVID-19, claiming that it is not rational and science-based.
Health Undersecretary Maria Rosario Vergeire said it is a recognized fact that resources in the country are limited.
The Food and Drug Administration is already looking into the certification of self-home antigen test kits that are being sold online, Health Secretary Francisco Duque III said Friday.
This came after the FDA said it will soon begin accepting applications for certification for the test kits.
The Metro Manila Council, composed of the 17 mayors in the National Capital Region, earlier approved an order to keep unvaccinated residents at home unless they are buying and accessing essential goods and services while the NCR is under Alert Level 3.
Metro Manila is currently under Alert Level 3 until January 15.
The government also placed its adjacent provinces Bulacan, Cavite, and Rizal under Alert Level 3 from January 3 until January 15, while Laguna is under the same alert level starting January 7 until January 15.
Fourteen more cities and provinces were placed under Alert Level 3 starting January 9 until 15.
Under Alert Level 3, several establishments are allowed to operate at 30% indoor venue capacity only for fully vaccinated individuals and 50% outdoor venue capacity, provided that all employees are fully vaccinated.