(PNA photo by Ben Briones)
MANILA – Unvaccinated and partially vaccinated workers in industries and establishments in the National Capital Region (NCR) will be given only 30 days from January 26 to continue riding public transportation in going around the metropolis.
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.
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 Department of Transportation (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 intends to protect unvaccinated and partially vaccinated workers who are using public transportation from contracting and developing severe coronavirus disease 2019 (Covid-19).
Tuazon added that the joint decision supported the government’s further ramping up of vaccination efforts, especially amid the highly transmissible Omicron variant.
“We want our workers to get fully vaccinated, especially now that there is no longer a shortage of Covid-19 vaccines, and there is a threat of highly transmissible variants of the virus. We are giving our workers the time to get themselves vaccinated,” he added.
Tuazon clarified that the latest protocol is not discriminatory.
“As jointly decided by the DOLE, DILG, and DOTr, workers who will remain unvaccinated 30 days after the announcement are not being barred from their workplaces. They are simply not allowed to use public transportation, but can still use other means, such as active transport, private vehicles, or company shuttle services,” Tuazon said. (PR)
