SC applicant defends brand agnostic policy on COVID-19 vaccine

An applicant for a vacant seat on the Supreme Court (SC) on Wednesday backed the government’s decision not to disclose in advance what brand of COVID-19 vaccine will be available in inoculation sites.

During the public interview organized by the Judicial and Bar Council (JBC), Sandiganbayan Associate Justice Rafael Lagos said it was the government’s right to implement such a policy.

“We have to give the government a presumption of regularity in their decision to do that because they are the experts. They have primary jurisdiction on who to vaccinate, what to vaccinate and who to prioritize,” Lagos said when asked by JBC member and retired SC Justice Noel Tijam about his position on the matter.

“It is within the powers of the government to say these are the only vaccines available. If you line up then you have to be vaccinated with this brand. If you don’t want to, then it’s your choice.”

Some lawmakers have expressed opposition to the latest policy, arguing people have the right to full disclosure and that this would only worsen vaccine hesitancy.

Interior Secretary Eduardo Año earlier stressed that the individual’s right to information would be fully respected.

“The person will be informed of the brand in the vaccination center and he will have to give his informed consent but if he refuses, he will have to go back to the back of the line,” he said in a statement on May 20.

He said the government took this step to prevent a repeat of mass gatherings and long lines that occurred when brands were announced beforehand.

Lagos, meanwhile, said a person has the right to refuse to be vaccinated.

“The State has the right to protect its citizens under police power and general welfare clauses. The State has the right to insist that its citizens be vaccinated because science says vaccination is the only way out right now to control the pandemic,” he said.

“But if it becomes mandatory, then it impinges on a person’s right to his own life.”

Lagos is one of the 15 applicants for the SC post vacated by Alexander Gesmundo following his appointment as chief justice last April.—LDF, GMA News