SEVERAL business and industry groups have called for mobility restrictions for unvaccinated individuals as they urge the government to boost its mass vaccination efforts.
In a joint statement, private sector groups said they “support the government’s view that coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) vaccination policies should be more robust in order to save more Filipinos from serious sickness and death and help the economy and jobs to recover.”
“While we also steadfastly believe that everyone has the right to decide on vaccination, we do believe that the state and the private sector should be able to restrict the activities of unvaccinated persons for the common good,” the group said.
Signatories in the joint statement are Bankers Association of the Philippines (BAP), Cebu Business Club (CBC), Financial Executives Institute of the Philippines (FINEX), GoNegosyo, Investment Houses Association of the Philippines (IHAP), Makati Business Club (MBC), Philippine Business for Education (PBEd), Philippine Ecozones Association (PHILEA), Philippine Institute of Certified Public Accountants (PICPA), Philippine Retailers Association (PRA), Subdivision and Housing Developers Association (SHDA), US-ASEAN Business Council (US-ABC), and WomenBizPH.
Citing experts, the groups said the unvaccinated are more likely to get seriously sick “which would add to the strain on the healthcare system putting both COVID-19 and non-COVID-19 patients at risk of not having access to medical treatment.”
“In addition, there is evidence that unvaccinated persons may be more dangerous carriers of the virus,” the groups said.
“We believe the state should help companies reopen safely to protect and create jobs by allowing them to impose stricter requirements on unvaccinated employees and patrons, and to decline unvaccinated job applicants, in the interest of the health and safety of both the vaccinated and the unvaccinated,” the groups said. “Further, we believe the government should consider doing the same with its employees.”
The private sector organizations, in particular, noted the review of the Department of Labor and Employment’s (DOLE) Advisory 03-21, which states that “any employee who refuses or fails to be vaccinated shall not be discriminated against in terms of tenure, promotion, training, pay and other benefits or terminated from employment.”(GMA News)
