DILG: No response yet from mayors issued show cause order for skipping vaccination line

The Department of the Interior and Local Government (DILG) has yet to receive a response from local chief executives who were issued a show cause order for getting COVID-19 vaccines ahead of those on the priority list.

"So far wala pa naman [there is none]," said DILG officer-in-charge Undersecretary Bernardo Florece Jr. when asked on Dobol B TV if the local chief executives have responded to the show cause order.

"Inabot na sila ng weekend, although three days 'yung binigay natin sa kanila para magpaliwanag," he added.

[It's the weekend already, although we gave them three days to explain their side.]

At least five mayors have been issued a show cause order for skipping the line for COVID-19 vaccination. 

These are Mayor Alfred Romualdez of Tacloban City, Leyte; Mayor Dibu Tuan of T’boli, South Cotabato; Mayor Sulpicio Villalobos of Sto. Nino, South Cotabato; Mayor Noel Rosal of Legazpi City, Albay; and Mayor Abraham Ibba of Bataraza, Palawan.

Florece said they would consider the explanations of these mayors before deciding if appropriate charges will be filed against them.

"Titignan naman natin kung ano explanation nila. From there, titignan natin kung dapat ba talagang ituloy ang kaso o puwede nating i-admonish lang o i-reprimand," he said.

[We will consider their explanations. From there, we will see if cases should be filed or they can just be admonished or reprimanded.]

The Tacloban City mayor’s office said Romualdez was inoculated with the Sinovac vaccine to convince others to get the jab.

“We would like to state for the record that Mayor Romualdez volunteered to be publicly vaccinated with Sinovac vaccine in order to boost confidence in the vaccination program of the government,” it said.

“At the time the vaccination was done, health workers were hesitant to avail of Sinovac, opting instead to pass and wait for other Western made brands,” it added.

Florece said the said local chief executives may have misinterpreted the priority listing for COVID-19 vaccines, thinking that since they are mayors, they are also considered frontliners.

"Hindi naman natin sila masisisi dahil gusto nila mapakita sa mga tao na sila mismo ay nagpapaturok. Pero ganunpaman, meron tayong sinusunod kasi kaya kailangan natin sundin ang priority list," Florece said. 

[We cannot blame them because maybe they just want to show people that they themselves received the vaccine. Nevertheless, we have a priority list so we should follow that.]

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