DILG wants 'no vaccine, no subsidy' for unvaccinated 4Ps beneficiaries

The Department of Interior and Local Government (DILG) is looking at how it can implement a “no vaccine, no subsidy” policy for unvaccinated beneficiaries of the conditional cash transfer or Pantawid Pamilyang Pilipino Program (4Ps).

Interviewed on Dobol B TV on Saturday, DILG Undersecretary Jonathan Malaya said that many 4Ps beneficiaries still refuse to get vaccinated against COVID-19.

With this, the agency is proposing to “disincentivize” the unvaccinated government aid recipients.

“Ang 4Ps naman, kaya nga ‘yan tinatawag na conditional cash transfer kasi para makuha mo ang regular mong subsidiya sa pamahalaan ng may mga kondisyon ‘di ba,” Malaya said.

(The 4Ps is called conditional cash transfer because before you can get your regular subsidy from the government, you have to meet certain conditions.)

“Pumupunta ka sa health center, nagpapa deworm ka, ‘yung mga anak mo pinapasok mo sa eskwelahan, naka-enroll. So dadagdagan pa natin ng isa pang kondisyon which is pagbabakuna,” he said.

(You go to a health center, you undergo deworming, your children are in school and are enrolled. So we will add another condition which is vaccination.)

The DILG official said the proposal not to give cash grants to unvaccinated 4Ps beneficiaries was already submitted to the Department of Social Welfare and Development.

Malaya said the government is also looking at the legal issues which could affect the implementation of the proposal since conditional cash transfer is already institutionalized.

“‘Yan ang pinag-aaralan natin because we are in a public health emergency. Sabi ng mga taga-DWSD, health component [of 4Ps] is flexible… Pinag-aaralan na po ito ng mga abogado,” he said.

(We are studying the legal issues because we are in a public health emergency. Those from the DWSD said that the health component of 4Ps is flexible… Our lawyers are already studying this.)

The government is now discussing how it can implement mandatory vaccination against COVID-19 to further increase coverage rates, National Task Force Against COVID-19 spokesperson Restituto Padilla Jr. said Saturday.

“Ito ang usapin ngayon sa IATF (Inter-Agency Task Force for the Management of Emerging Infectious Diseases). Kasalukuyan nagkakaroon ng diskusyon diyan para kung maaring ituloy ang pagkakaroon ng mandatory vaccination,” Padilla said in an interview on Dobol B TV.

(This is what is being discussed now in the IATF. Currently, there are discussions on how to push through with mandatory vaccination.) —KG, GMA News