Provinces' league: LGUs taking COVID vax drive house-to-house

Local government units are now conducting house-to-house visits as they bring the COVID-19 vaccination program to the barangay level, the League of Provinces of the Philippines said Friday.

Interviewed on Dobol B TV, LPP President and Marinduque Governor Presbitero Velasco Jr. said LGUs have prepared to scale up their vaccination efforts following the order of the national government.

“’Yung pagbabakuna ay dinadala na po sa mga barangay. ‘Yung mga barangay officials ay pinakikiusapan na sunduin na ‘yung mga babakunahan,” he said.

(We already brought the vaccination to the barangays. Barangay officials were asked to pick up residents from their homes)

Velasco added that the transportation to the vaccination sites in some areas was a challenge for residents, which affected their interest in getting inoculated.

Recently, the Department of the Interior and Local Government (DILG) instructed LGUs to intensify vaccination campaign to reach the target of having the 70% of the total population fully vaccinated this year.

Velasco said the national government will focus on distributing vaccine supply to the provinces after initially prioritizing Metro Manila and other areas during surges of COVID-19 infections.

According to him, the national government will provide more vaccine supply to the Calabarzon, Bicol, Central Luzon, Western Visayas, and Central Visayas regions.

While LGUs are already ready to ramp up their vaccination efforts, Velasco said that some provinces, even those with low COVID-19 cases, are appealing for more vaccine allocation to protect their residents from COVID-19.

On Thursday, DILG spokesperson Undersecretary Jonathan Malaya said local chief executives will be held liable if they fail to ramp up their COVID-19 vaccination efforts as instructed by the national government.

Citing the Local Government Code of 1991, Malaya said complaints of neglect of duty or misconduct will be filed against local chief executives and department heads over indifference and unjustified failure. —LBG, GMA News