DILG probes mayors who got COVID-19 jabs

MANILA, Philippines — Mayors who jumped the line and had themselves inoculated with COVID-19 vaccines are under fire.

In a post on Facebook, Tacloban City Mayor Alfred Romualdez said a nurse from the Department of
Health (DOH) administered the vaccine on Monday after he was screened by city health officer Gloria Fabrigas.

Undersecretary Epimaco Densing III of the Department of the Interior and Local Government said they are conducting an investigation.

“I’ll just have these allegations verified before we issue the show
cause order,” Densing said in a text message.

He said they received reports that four mayors had been immunized against COVID-19 ahead of health care workers.

Romualdez defended his action, saying it was meant to boost the trust of their frontliners in the vaccines acquired by the government.

“Tinitingnan nila ako. Si mayor ba magpapabakuna? Umaatras. Sabi ko,
sige ako,  para hindi ka matakot,” he said during a news briefing.

Romualdez said he also does not want to be accused of double standard by waiting for the other vaccines, such
as those manufactured by Pfizer and Moderna.

In photos posted on the Facebook page of the Minglanilla local government unit in Cebu, Mayor Elanito Peña was also seen being inoculated and holding a sign that he had been vaccinated. The photos have been deleted.

DOH-Central Visayas office spokesperson Mary Jean Loreche urged local officials and other sectors not in the priority list to wait for  their turn.

“Let’s all fall in line in order not to jeopardize our vaccination program,” Loreche said.

She said they were neither aware of nor consulted on Peña’s inoculation.

Loreche said the DOH only implements the vaccination  program based on priority listing.

“Mayors and other politicians are still not included in the sub-group A, who are health care frontliners,” Loreche said.

After medical workers, senior citizens and those with comorbidities are in the priority list.

Presidential spokesman Harry Roque Jr. stressed that those who are not classified as medical frontliners could not be vaccinated yet.

”If we violate the order of priority, our future deliveries coming from the COVAX Facility might be adversely affected,” Roque said.  – Miriam Desacada, Christina Mendez, Michelle Palaubsanon/The Freema