SO NOW there’s this “no vax, no ride” policy being proposed by the Department of Transportation (DOTr). Right off the bat there is absolutely no scientific basis that this policy can stop the COVID-19 virus from its tracks.
This is simply absurd, anti-poor and discriminatory. Instead of barring unvaccinated people from using public transport, why won’t the DOTr instead provide free rides to vaccination sites and help the government educate people and curb vaccine hesitancy?
Public transport is a public utility and should not be denied to anyone who needs access to it.
The proposed policy is punitive instead of being proactive. It only succeeds in antagonizing the public instead of wooing their support to the COVID-19 vaccination program.
In case DOTr forgot, according to Section 12 of Republic Act 11525 (COVID-19 Vaccination Program Act): “xxx vaccine cards shall not be considered as an additional mandatory requirement for educational, employment and other similar government transaction purposes.”
This DOTr proposal is just as repulsive as the proposed “no vax, no work” policy. It only punishes the people for the Duterte administration’s lackluster response to the pandemic.
Not all citizens have vehicles to get to vaccination centers safely. Also, COVID-19 vaccines are not being brought house-to-house. How can the Duterte administration now convince more than half of the Philippine population to get vaccinated if the government prohibits them from using public transportation?
In fact, due to the lack of public transportation, millions of commuters have no choice but to crowd buses and jeepneys, thereby violating the physical distancing protocol.
A reset of thinking may be needed here. Why not instead appeal to the people’s higher sense of being – that getting vaccinated is a civic duty and is the better way to deal with the pandemic.
