PRRD warned anti-vaxxers to stress fight vs. pandemic

MANILA – President Rodrigo Duterte made a stand against anti-vaccination to stress the need for public cooperation and put an end to the Covid-19 pandemic.

Department of Justice Secretary Menardo Guevarra said on Tuesday the President used “strong words” to drive home the need to be vaccinated and reach population protection as soon as possible.

The President also knew that what he talked about during this Talk to the Nation address on Monday night had no legal basis yet.

“As a lawyer, he (President Duterte) knows that not getting vaccinated is a legal choice. There is no law as yet that compels vaccination against Covid-19, much less criminalizes it, as presently available vaccines are still in their trial phases,” Guevarra told reporters via text message.

President Duterte said people who refuse to get vaccinated can be virus carriers.

“They can, you know, travel from one place to another, carrying the virus and then contaminating other people,” the President said during his recorded public address.

“Now ulitin ko ulit. ‘Pag hindi ka nagpabakuna, mamamatay ka talaga. So planuhin mo na ‘yung buhay mo kung paano pagdating ng panahon. Bili ka ng kabaong o magpasunog ka. Magkano ang bayaran mo at maghanap ka na ng pwesto sa sementeryo. Ganyan ‘yan eh. Ayaw ninyong magpabakuna? Patay kayo sigurado (I will repeat: if you do not get vaccinated, you would really die. So plan your life, buy your coffin or be cremated. Determine how much you will pay and find a slot in the cemetery. That’s the way it is. You do not want to be vaccinated? You will surely die),” he added.