DILG exec fumes at Mark Anthony Fernandez getting COVID-19 jab, blames Parañaque mayor

Interior and Local Government Undersecretary Undersecretary Epimaco Densing III on Wednesday called out the vaccination of actor Mark Anthony Fernandez against COVID-19 in Parañaque City.

Interviewed on Super Radyo dzBB, Densing said the actor is not included in the priority list  of the government in the inoculation rollout.

“Kaninang umaga medyo napipikon nga ako dahil dito sa Parañaque may artista na binakunahan, ‘yung Mark Anthony Fernandez,” Densing said.

(Earlier this morning, I was pissed because an actor, Mark Anthony Fernandez, was vaccinated in Parañaque.)

“Meron tayong priority list na dapat i-implement. May programa na sinusunod diyan,” he added.

(We have a priority list that should be followed. There is a program that we should be following here.)

In an article on PEP.ph, Fernandez said he received a dose of AstraZeneca’s COVID-19 vaccine on Monday.

"Nagpaturok ako kahapon at wala siyang side effect sa akin. Lumakas pa ako," he said.

After his inoculation, Fernandez encouraged the public to receive the vaccines doses once they are available.

According to Densing, Parañaque City Mayor Edwin Olivarez has the command responsibility for the incident.

GMA News Online has asked Olivarez for his comment, but he has yet to issue a statement as of posting time.

As of Tuesday, Densing said the Department of the Interior and Local Government has issued show cause orders to five mayors for receiving the COVID-19 vaccines ahead of the prioritized sectors.

Based on the prioritization set by the national government, the vaccination rollout in the country will start with frontline health workers, then followed by indigent senior citizens, remaining senior citizens, remaining indigent population, and uniformed personnel. —KBK, GMA News