ILOILO – Barangay officials in this province are ready to carry out what President Rodrigo Duterte recently ordered them to do – restrict in their homes people who are not vaccinated against coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19).
Liga ng mga Barangay provincial federation president Dorothy Paes agreed with the President that the unvaccinated are more vulnerable to COVID-19, thus restricting them in their homes is actually beneficial to them.
She stressed the importance of vaccination – it protects not only the vaccinee but also his household and community from coronavirus.
There are 1,71 barangays in Iloilo province. If need be, their entrance and exit points would be secured, said Paes.
There are 18,931 barangay officials throughout Iloilo.
Paes, however, acknowledged that there is nothing barangay officials could do if some people opt not to be vaccinated.
“Deretso nila nga indi magpa-vaccine. Pero kita nga ara sa gobyerno upod naton ang aton Gov. Toto Defensor, padayun gid sa pagkampanya kag ginahingyu gid naton ang unvaccinated nga mga pumoluyo nga magpabakuna,” said Paes.
She also revealed that over 90 percent of barangay officials (barangay captains, councilmen, treasurers, secretaries) in this province were already vaccinated against COVID-19.
As of Jan. 5, 804,433 persons here were deemed fully vaccinated – healthcare workers (78,836), senior citizens (119,665), persons with comorbidities 128,501), frontline workers (188,681), and indigent (101,364).
The provincial government’s target population for COVID-19 vaccination is 1,448,757./PN
