DILG exec proposes requiring vaccine cards to be worn like IDs outdoors
MANILA, Philippines — An official of the Department of the Interior and Local Government proposed vaccination cards issued by local government units certifying that one is vaccinated should be worn like IDs.
Interior Undersecretary for Barangay Affairs Martin Diño made the suggestion at Wednesday's Laging Handa briefing as he presented his own vaccination card being worn with a lanyard and an ID case.
Diño, himself once a barangay captain, said that he would present the proposed requirement to the Inter-Agency Task Force on Emerging Infectious Diseases.
"This will hopefully be a sacrifice from all vaccinated Filipinos: If you are already vaccinated, once you go out your home, wear your vaccination card," he said in mixed Filipino and English.
"How will you know someone is not vaccinated if they are not wearing their vaccination card? When you leave the house you won't be bothered by the police or the barangay watchmen anymore, they won't ask you where your vaccination card is if you're wearing it on your chest."
Metro Manila is currently piloting the Alert Level system. Under the fourth alert level, which is in place in Metro Manila, partially inoculated or unvaccinated people may only enter some establishments outdoors.
Earlier, the Metro Manila Council said that local government units should hit their vaccination targets first before looking to impose new policies, including special privileges for partially-vaccinated individuals.
The council, who includes all of the mayors and local chiefs in the capital region, also said that any policies should impose positive reinforcement to incentivize getting jabbed instead of discriminating against the unvaccinated.
To date, health authorities have recorded 2,417,419 coronavirus infections in the Philippines, 162,580 of whom are still classified as active cases.
As it currently stands, only around 18.5 million people in the country are fully vaccinated.
According to data from the Philippine National Police, 135 areas in the National Capital Region are under granular lockdown.
Around the country, almost 77,000 individuals are under some form of granular or localized lockdown.
— Franco Luna
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