32M Pinoys signed up for vax via LGUs: DILG

MANILA – Over 32 million individuals have so far been registered for vaccination against the coronavirus disease 2019 (Covid-19) in their respective local government units (LGUs) Department of the Interior and Local Government (DILG) Secretary Eduardo Año said on Monday.

“Sa ngayon ay 32,275,526 ang bilang ng ating mga kababayang nakapagparehistro ng kanilang intensyong magpabakuna sa kani-kanilang LGUs ayon sa pinakahuling tala ng datos sa Vaccination Monitoring System ng DILG (So far, we have 32,275,526 Filipinos who have been registered for vaccination with their LGUs based on the Vaccination Monitoring System of the DILG),” Año told President Rodrigo Duterte in a pre-recorded Cabinet meeting.

This came as the DILG ordered local officials to speed up vaccination registration activities and ensure that non-technology savvy persons and those who do not have mobile phones or internet access would be included in the government’s inoculation drive.

Meanwhile, Año also commended six LGUs for having the most vaccinated individuals.

In Metro Manila, Quezon City topped the list with 414,850, followed by Manila with 326,101 and Caloocan City with 238,768.

In terms of fully vaccinated individuals, Manila has 146,248, followed by Quezon City with 126,000 and Parañaque City with 79,111.

Outside Metro Manila, Baguio City has the most number of vaccinated individuals with 99,745, followed by Cebu City with 55,214 and Cagayan de Oro City with 43,462.

Out of these figures, Baguio City has 46,157 fully vaccinated individuals, Cebu City has 18,689 and Cagayan de Oro City has 16,859.

“We are now asking the public not to just believe any information coming from the Internet and social media [regarding the Covid-19 vaccines]. They must be always ready to check the credibility of any information especially those claiming that they are for health and safety),” the DILG chief said in Filipino.

Año also reported a decline in the number of violators of the mandatory use of face masks for the past week — from 51,607 for the period June 7 to 13 to 49,526 for the period June 14 to 20.

“I would also like to report that we have not reported any superspreader event for the past week. This is a good sign as many are now complying with the President’s orders on health protocols,” he said.

Use of face shields stays

Meanwhile, the Philippine National Police (PNP) on Tuesday reminded the public to continue wearing face shields as a precaution against more Covid-19 variants.

“Nakikiusap po tayo sa publiko na igalang at sumunod sa direktiba ng ating Pangulo tungkol sa pagsusuot ng face shields. Para po ito sa kaligtasan ng lahat lalo na’t may dumagdag po sa bilang ng nakitaan ng Delta variant sa bansa (We ask the public to respect and follow our President’s directive on wearing face shields. This is for the safety of everyone, especially since there has been an increase in the number of Delta variants detected in the country),” PNP chief, Gen. Guillermo Eleazar said in a statement.

This came as President Rodrigo Duterte decided to retain the policy requiring the use of face shields both indoors and outdoors “in view” of the more transmissible Delta variant of Covid-19.

“Ayon sa ating mga eksperto, hindi biro ang variant na ito at kailangan talagang magdoble ingat tayo (According to our experts, this variant is serious and we really need to be doubly careful),” Eleazar added.

So far, the Department of Health (DOH) said there are 17 cases of the Delta variant that have been detected in the Philippines.

Eleazar, meanwhile, assured the strict enforcement of minimum public health safety standards to prevent the spread of the more infectious variant.

“Kung ganito pong may mas nakahahawang variant na na-detect sa ating bansa, mas kinakailangan po natin ng ibayong proteksyon sa pamamagitan ng pagsunod sa ating mga health protocols (If more infectious variants have been detected in our country, we need more protection by following our health protocols),” he said.

He also reminded police personnel to comply with the mandatory use of face shields.

“Ang instruction ko lang sa mga kapulisan natin ay sumunod din sa ganitong patakaran dahil anong magiging kredibilidad natin niyan sa panghuhuli kung tayo mismo ay hindi sinusunod ito (My only instruction to our policemen is also to follow this policy because we will not have any credibility to apprehend violators if we ourselves do not follow it),” he said.