DOJ: Duterte correct, employers may refuse unvaccinated applicants

The Department of Justice on Thursday maintained that requiring already hired personnel to get vaccinated against the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) is not allowed.

Justice Secretary Menardo Guevarra issued the remark after he affirmed that President Rodrigo Duterte was correct in saying that employers have the right to refuse applicants who are not vaccinated.

“The president is correct. Employers have the prerogative to select whoever they wish to employ on the basis of their own standards. There is no employer-employee relationship at that point,” Duterte said in a message to reporters.

“But if they have already hired and signed up someone, they cannot say, ‘okay, you are already hired. but you must get vaccinated.’ That is the compulsion that is not allowed under RA 11595,” he added

NTF chief implementer Carlito Galvez Jr. has previously said that he was in favor of mandatory vaccination against COVID-19 and that an executive order from the president may be sufficient. -NB, GMA News