The Philippines will be conducting a three-day national vaccination drive from November 29 to December 1, according to President Rodrigo Duterte on Tuesday.
Duterte said in his weekly "Talk to the People" that the vaccination drive will coincide with Bonifacio Day on November 30.
"We are planning to conduct a three-day national vaccination drive from November 29 to December 1, coinciding with the November 30 commemoration of Bonifacio Day," he announced.
According to the president, those who will be getting the jabs are regarded as "heroes," while those who will not are "ugly."
"Ang gustong sabihin dito sa gobyerno na lahat ng nagpakabuna are heroes. Lahat kayo hero," Duterte said. "'Yung hindi nagpabakuna yung mga pangit."
(What the government wants to say is that all those vaccinated are heroes. All of you are heroes. Those who will not are ugly.)
The vaccination drive is the government's plan to hike the number of vaccinated people to at least 50 million by the end of the year.
Several senators welcomed the initiative from the government.
Senator Joel Villanueva said the massive vaccination drive is the "one-time big-time" approach that the country needs so it can lure in hesitant members of the population.
Senator Panfilo Lacson also called the initiative a "welcome development" in order to reach herd immunity.
Senator Risa Hontiveros expressed support for the government's "last-ditch effort to achieve its target for this year."
However, she lamented the time it took for the government before launching a massive vaccination drive, especially when vaccines are close to expiration.
"Huwag na nating dagdagan ang sayang. Ang ganitong uri ng urgency ay matagal nang panawagan ng marami sa ating mga kababayan," she said in a media release.
(Let's not add to our regrets. This kind of urgency is what many of our citizens have been asking for.)
The Commission on Human Rights (CHR) earlier welcomed the move from the government but hoped the government will not coerce people to get the jabs.
"Wine-welcome natin at malugod tayo na meron tayong other initiatives tulad ng three-day vaccination drive ng gobyerno. In this sense, nakikita natin na the government is reaching out especially dun sa mga ayaw magpabakuna," CHR deputy spokesperson Marc Siapno told DZRH in an interview.
(We welcome and we are pleased that there are other initiatives like the government’s three-day vaccination drive. In this sense, we can see that the government is reaching out especially to those who refuse to get the jabs.)
"Ang kailangan natin 'yung pagbabalanse sa individual rights saka sa rights ng lipunan. Dahil ayaw natin na yung gobyerno na may pangunahing responsibilidad na protektahan 'yung mga mamamayan niya 'yung mga unang pumipilit o 'yung lumalabag sa kanilang mga karapatan," said Siapno.
(We need to balance individual rights and the rights of the community because we don’t want the government, which has the primary responsibility of protecting its citizens, to be the first one to force them or violate their rights.)
