LGUs exchange ideas on vaccination drive

MANILA – Local government units (LGUs) are working together in adherence to the national government’s call to ramp up their vaccination drives.

Narvacan, Ilocos Sur Mayor Chavit Singson, also the national president of the League of Municipalities of the Philippines, said LGUs have set up a coordination system to address vaccine hesitancy.

“Iyong mga iba ay natatakot pero nakukumbinsi naman sila. Lalo nga kayong tatamaan ‘pag hindi kayo vaccinated kako. So, pinasabi ko sa kanila. So, pumayag naman iyong mga iba. Importante diyan, information sa ating mga kababayan (Some are still scared but they are convinced when they’re told it’s more risky when you are not vaccinated. So, they relent. Some are convinced. Information is important for our constituents),” he said during the Laging Handa press briefing on Saturday.

Singson also said LGUs strictly implement safe and healthy measures set by the national government.

“Kaya nga more active sila ngayon dahil iyong information ang importante diyan. So, unang-una sinasabi namin lahat iyong prevention, priority iyan at all costs. Kailangan mabakunahan lahat ang taong bayan (That’s why they are more active now because the information is really important. So first of all, we all say that prevention is our priority at all cost so we need to vaccinate people),” he said.

He added all mayors work hard as they are among the main front-liners amid the Covid-19 pandemic.

“Nakapronta pa rin kaming lahat at priority talaga iyong bakuna. Sinusundan namin lahat ng utos ng national at tinutulungan din namin at kaniya-kaniya rin kaming tulong (We are all at the frontlines as we prioritize the vaccination, we are following all the orders from the national government and we are helping each other),” he said.

Border control measures likewise continue, especially with the expected influx of travelers during the Holidays.

“So, lahat ng klaseng ng paghahanda, iyon ang inaatupag namin ngayon at nagbabalitaan kaming mga ibang municipalities kung anong magandang gawin na paghahanda (So we do all kinds of preparations. That’s what we focus on now and we’re informing other municipalities on what preparations must be done),” Singson added.

President Rodrigo Duterte earlier emphasized the crucial contribution of LGUs to meet the country’s target to fully vaccinate at least 50 million Filipinos and achieve population protection by December this year.