House inquiry sought for ‘no vax, no ride’ policy

Gabriela party-list Representative Arlene Brosas is seeking an investigation into the Department of Transportation's "no vaccination, no ride" policy, calling it  "illegal" and "discriminatory."

In filing House Resolution 2451, Brosas urged the House committees on health and transportation to conduct an inquiry, in aid of legislation, on the DOTr's latest policy, which is in line with President Rodrigo Duterte's directive to restrict the mobility of unvaccinated individuals.

She pointed out that there are other ways for the government to prevent the spread of the coronavirus, including the highly transmissible variant Omicron, and to urge the public to get vaccinated against COVID-19 without setting aside their basic rights.

"The government must steer away from its anti-poor and anti-people policy-making schemes and adopt a rights-based approach in handling the COVID-19 surge through efficient surveillance system, free mass testing, contact tracing, isolation, and treatment," Brosas said.

She also said aggressive information dissemination would be better to educate the public about the effectiveness of vaccines.

The government pushed through with its plan to implement the policy against unvaccinated individuals from riding mass transport vehicles despite criticisms from other individuals and groups.

Government officials later clarified that workers are exempted from this rule as well as those accessing essential goods and services.

This as a certain worker, who is partially vaccinated, was barred from taking public transportation for her to have her medical exam at work. She even lamented that it was not her fault that her second dose was scheduled next month. — RSJ, GMA News