‘No vax, no ride’ policy only for Alert Level 3 or up: Nograles

MANILA – The restrictions of movement for unvaccinated individuals in the National Capital Region (NCR) will be lifted once alert level classification is lowered to Alert Level 2, acting Presidential spokesperson, Cabinet Secretary Karlo Nograles, said Wednesday.

“You have to go back to the ordinances. I believe the ordinances really state that this no vax, no ride or the limitations or the restrictions based on the ordinances only for Alert Level 3 or higher. So, meaning to say, when you deescalate, then obviously the ordinance can longer be implemented,” Nograles said in a television interview.

Nograles noted the Department of Transportation (DOTr) is implementing the “no vax, no ride” policy based on the ordinance passed by the Metro Manila cities.

“So, the legal basis of this, are the ordinances themselves,” he added.

Nograles said the policy is “primarily hinge on protecting the unvaccinated persons.”

The Inter-Agency Task Force for the Management of Emerging Infectious Diseases (IATF-EID) issued guidelines and the local government units (LGUs) will pass their respective ordinances based on the set procedures.

On Wednesday, the Department of Transportation (DOTr) said unvaccinated and partially vaccinated workers in industries and establishments allowed to operate in the NCR under the existing Covid-19 Alert Level 3 status will only be given 30 days starting January 26 to continue riding public transportation in going around the metropolis.

This was after Department of Labor and Employment (DOLE) Secretary Silvestre Bello III, Department of the Interior and Local Government (DILG) Secretary Eduardo Año, and DOTr Secretary Arthur Tugade decided on the matter in an inter-agency meeting on January 21 after looking into the country’s vaccination data.

DOTr Undersecretary Artemio Tuazon Jr. said the decision is to protect unvaccinated and partially vaccinated workers who are using public transportation from contracting and developing severe Covid-19.

Thirty days after the announcement of the new protocol, only workers in the NCR who are fully vaccinated will be allowed to use public transportation.

Within the 30-day window, partially vaccinated workers will still be allowed to board public transportation.

However, because partially unvaccinated individuals are still at risk, they will not be allowed to use public transportation if vaccination remains incomplete within the 30-day window.

Nograles also noted that 80 percent of the hospitalized Covid-19 patients are unvaccinated and more than 90 percent of them experienced severe and critical symptoms.

“It’s really for the protection of the unvaccinated and again the DOTr is implementing the ordinances passed by the LGUs,” Nograles said.

The NCR is currently under Alert Level 3 until the end of January amid the rise in Covid-19 active cases.

Nograles said the ITAF-EID will meet on Thursday to discuss whether to deescalate or escalate the alert level status, based on the parameters on NCR’s Covid-19 situation.

Meanwhile, Health Secretary Francisco Duque III earlier said Metro Manila is “ready” to deescalate to an Alert Level 2 status should the government decide for a less restrictive level by February.