Tugade launches vaccination program for transport workers

MANILA, Philippines — Transportation Secretary Arthur Tugade has ordered the strict implementation of health and safety measures in public transport facilities as he led the pilot COVID-19 vaccination of transport workers at the Parañaque Integrated Terminal Exchange (PITX) yesterday.

“It’s important that we make sure our heroic transport workers are all vaccinated, as they go to different places, and so are those they mingle with everyday,” he said in Filipino during the kickoff ceremony.

The vaccination drive, dubbed as “TsuperHero: Kasangga ng Resbakuna,” targets the inoculation of public utility vehicle (PUV) drivers, conductors and other transport workers through a partnership among the DOTr Road Transport Sector, the Department of Health (DOH), the Mega Manila Consortium Corp. (MMCC), the Parañaque City government and the PITX.

The MMCC converted some buses into inoculation facilities, capable of accommodating 1,000 transport workers every Saturday to reach the program’s minimum target of 6,000 vaccinees.

The Parañaque City government provided the first batch of vaccines while the remaining vaccines needed for the program would be sourced from the national government, under the nationwide vaccination program, through the help of the DOH’s Metro Manila Center for Health Development.

The Parañaque City Health Office also provided the needed medical personnel for screening, vaccination and post-vaccination tasks.

Along with the vaccination of transport workers, Tugade also announced that PITX, represented by Megawide chairman Edgar Saavedra, heeded his call to waive terminal fees for buses and jeepneys at the PITX starting tomorrow until the easing of travel restrictions, to cushion the impact of the pandemic on the public transport sector.

Mayor Edwin Olivarez said the initiative would surely hasten the city’s goal of achieving herd immunity as 250,000 residents have already been vaccinated.

“This help from the DOTr and the IATF is a big step for the city to achieve its goal of herd immunity. Any form of help is welcome and hugely appreciated as the struggle felt by Filipinos due to the pandemic needs to be stopped immediately,” Olivarez said.

The vaccination program for transport workers will initially be done in Metro Manila and in nearby cities. It will later be implemented in other regions, including in remote areas.