SENATOR Christopher “Bong” Go renewed his appeal to the national government to firm up necessary guidelines and procedures of the ‘National Vaccine Roadmap’ as the vaccine rollout is expected to reach the A4 priority category in the coming months.
“Natutuwa po tayo na patuloy ang pagbabakuna ng priority sectors sa ating bansa. Inuuna lang po natin ang healthworkers, senior citizens, at ‘yung may comorbidities. Pagkatapos nito ay babakunahan na natin ang essential sectors hanggang makarating sa indigents at iba pang miyembro ng lipunan,” Go said.
Go highlighted that as the country expects more vaccines to arrive in the coming months, government should also prepare detailed guidelines and procedures on how to vaccinate a bigger chunk of the population.
He noted that the current vaccination of A1 to A3 priority groups is just the first step and the processes may become more complex as the rollout reaches other sectors of society.
Go also supported the appeal of seafarers and other Overseas Filipino Workers (OFWs) to consider the requirements needed for them to resume their work abroad, such as the need to be inoculated with vaccines that are acceptable in their country of destination, as well as the necessary documentation to prove that they have been vaccinated.
“Umapela po tayo na maisama sa A4 priority group ang seafarers at OFWs na kailangan na umalis papunta sa ibang bansa para makapagpatuloy ng trabaho.
“Nais nating mabakunahan na ang sektor na ito para po maibalik na ang kabuhayan nila at makatulong sa ekonomiya. May mga pamilya po silang binubuhay, tulungan natin sila para mas makatulong rin sila sa komunidad nila,” Go appealed.
Meanwhile, noting that members of this sector cross international borders all the time and may need to provide proof of vaccination as a requirement for entry in some of their ports of call, Go also asked the government to provide acceptable proof of vaccination to these workers.
“Sa ngayon, may ibinibigay na vaccination cards para doon sa mga nabakunahan na. Kailangan lang siguraduhin na acceptable ito na pruweba kahit saan man sila magpunta. Usap-usapan ngayon ang pagkakaroon ng vaccine passports. Dapat mapaghandaan ito ng mabuti,”
Under Section 12 of Republic Act 11525, the Department of Health is tasked to issue a vaccine card to all persons vaccinated. To expedite the process, the DOH may delegate the processing and issuance of vaccine cards to local government units and private entities, subject to guidelines
Media to be vaccinated in their localities
Recently, Go has successfully raised the appeals of certain essential sectors to be part of the vaccine priority list without prejudice to already identified priority groups especially medical frontliners who remain the top priority.
Among these sectors that have already been included in the A4 category through Go’s recommendation are frontline news media workers, airport personnel, seafarers and OFWs, aside from law enforcement personnel and government workers.
As for members of the press, undersecretary Joel Sy. Egco, head of the Presidential Task Force on Media Security (PTFoMS), said the “consensus” at the Presidential Communication Operations Office (PCOO) is to have members of the press to be inoculated in their respective place of residence.
“That is the consensus,” Egco told Paul Gutierrez, president of the National Press Club of the Philippines (NPC), who gave the suggestion to PCOO secretary and NPC lifetime member, Martin Marfori Andanar, in a letter last April 8, 2021.
The NPC made the proposal in order to simplify and make easier the vaccination of those in the media profession.
Egco said particularly for journalists who had been issued an IATF ID as proof that they are ‘APOR’ (authorized person outside of residence), this should suffice as identification in getting vaccinated at their local government units, once it is already the turn of those in the A4 category to be inoculated.
Egco added they expect to come out with detailed guidelines for members of the press by the end of the month.