The Department of Transportation’s (DOTr) “no vaccination, no ride” policy has the support of officials and a commuter group as barring unvaccinated individuals from public transportation could curb the spread of the coronavirus disease 2019 (Covid-19).
Justice Secretary Menardo Guevara defended the order and argued that the state has the responsibility to promote public health and safety by regulating the movement of unvaccinated individuals.
“The unvaccinated are not absolutely prohibited from availing themselves of public transport, provided that they have passes to show that they are out to obtain essential goods and services or that they have medical certifications showing that they could not be vaccinated for medical or health reasons,” Guevarra said in a recent interview.
Public transport operators, he explained, are bound to safely carry their passengers to their destinations, “and safely means freedom not only from accidental injury but also from transmissible diseases,” he added.
Interior Secretary Eduardo Año said the order would benefit both the vaccinated and unvaccinated while Trade Secretary Ramon Lopez said the DOTr policy is the government’s way of avoiding yet again a series of lockdowns and preventing hospitals from getting overwhelmed by Covid-19 cases.
“We are limiting this (movement of unvaccinated individuals) para (so there will be) less risk. Precisely ma-o-overwhelm ‘yung health care system natin. Kasi mas dangerous sila (unvaccinated) and ‘pag ma-infect, ang tendency baka maging severe at sila ang magpuno ng mga ospital at mas marami ang severe I critical cases and therefore, baka mag-lockdown pa (Our health care system may be overwhelmed. It would be more dangerous if the unvaccinated get infected because their cases may be severe. They could fill up the hospitals and severe and critical cases could further rise, which could lead to lockdowns),” Lopez said in another interview.
Senator Franklin Drilon supported Guevara’s view that the policy is well within the state’s power.
“It is a valid and reasonable exercise of police power to promote the health, safety, and general welfare of the people,” Drilon said in a statement. “The State may also interfere with personal liberty to promote the general welfare, as long as the interference is reasonable and not arbitrary.”
For advocate group National Center for Commuter Safety and Protection, the DOTr order is “not discriminatory”.
“Unvaccinated persons are not banned from taking other modes of transportation,” group chair Elvira Medina said, adding that her group and their affiliates support the policy.
Airline company Cebu Pacific also backed the policy.
Before its implementation, Senator Grace Poe, Samar (1st District) Rep. Edgar Sarmiento, and the Private Hospitals Association of the Philippines (PHAP) have expressed support for the order.
“Data have shown that those that were fully vaccinated were less likely to have severe symptoms of Covid infection. The majority of those that have died or have been hospitalized due to Covid were unvaccinated,” Poe said in a statement. “We should encourage everyone to get vaccinated unless they have a legitimate underlying health reason not to.”
“I think that our people who are unvaccinated for whatever reason should comply for now with the requirement of the DOTr until the transmission becomes more manageable,” Sarmiento said in a statement.
PHAP president, Dr. Jose Rene de Grano, said the DOTr order will protect the health and safety of the public and curb the uptick in cases.
He said in a statement that most of the unvaccinated population are severely hit by Covid-19 due to lack of protection and suggested that unvaccinated individuals stay at home to avoid catching the virus.
Source: Philippines News Agency
