Mayors fail to explain vaccine priority violation

MANILA, Philippines — Mayors who skipped the COVID vaccination priority list have failed to respond to the show cause orders (SCOs) within the period set by the Department of the Interior and Local Government, a DILG official said yesterday.

DILG officer-in-charge Bernardo Florece Jr. said the mayors were given three days to respond to the SCOs, which were issued on Wednesday.

Among the local chief executives who were told to explain were Alfred Romualdez of Tacloban, Leyte; Dibu Tuan of T’boli, South Cotabato; Sulpicio Villalobos of Sto Niño, South Cotabato, Noel Rosal of Legazpi City, Albay, and Abraham Ibba of Bataraza, Palawan.

“The weekend caught up with them, although we gave them three days to explain,” Florece said.

The show cause orders required the mayors to explain why they jumped the vaccination line before the DILG decides to file appropriate charges against them.

The current supply of vaccines in the country is intended for health frontline workers and medical staff.

While the government’s COVID task force approved the prioritization of local chief executives, they should still come after the senior citizens, persons with comorbidities and the indigent population.

Some of the mayors said that since many health workers in their areas refused to get vaccinated, they decided to jump the line to boost vaccine confidence.

Although there may have been cases like that, Florece said the priority list should still be followed.

“We can’t blame them because they want to show their people that they were willing to get the jabs, but we have a priority list that we need to follow,” Florece said.

Aside from the five mayors, the DILG also summoned seven mayors and a city councilor for getting the jab ahead of people in the priority list.

The agency has yet to identify them.

School execs jump line

Some officials of the Saint Louis University in Baguio City have reportedly been inoculated with the anti-COVID vaccine despite not being in the list of sectors prioritized for the program.

Fr. Macwayne Mangiwang, SLU parish priest, admitted that he had received his first dose of Sinovac vaccine.

Mangiwang dispelled speculation about the perceived ill effects of the vaccine.

“I have my first dose of the vaccine,” Mangiwang said, apparently to convince mass goers to get vaccinated.

“I am just waiting for another 28 days for my second dose,” he added.

The university has yet to comment on the matter.

MECQ reversion sought

The local government of Quirino wants the province reverted to modified enhanced community quarantine for 14 days after health officials said the surge of COVID cases has hit a critical level.

The recommendation for a stricter quarantine status was made by the regional health office, which affirmed the rising number of daily infections in the province, Gov. Dakila Cua said.

Cua said hospitals in the Ilocos region are not equipped to handle severe and critical COVID cases.

The Southern Isabela Medical Center in nearby Santiago City, which serves as a referral facility for severe cases, is overwhelmed with patients.

The regional task force on COVID is expected to decide on Cua’s appeal today.

Aside from Quirino, the local government of Tuguegarao in Cagayan is seeking to be reverted to enhanced community quarantine during the Holy Week. – Artemio Dumlao, Raymund Catindig