Apology needed over 'no vax, no ride' confusion, admits Bello

Labor Secretary Silvestre Bello III on Wednesday said there is a need to apologize to the public due to the lack of information drive regarding the policy barring unvaccinated people against COVID-19 from using public transport.

“I think there's a reason for us to apologize to the public for that kasi [because], as I was telling Secretary Karlo [Nograles], kailangan pa ng [we need] massive information drive about this policy,” Bello told CNN Philippines.

Bello on Tuesday said the workforce is exempted from the "no vaccination, no ride" policy as they render essential services.

The clarification was made amid video of a partially vaccinated worker who became emotional after she was not allowed to take public transportation. Bello said he had seen the video.

He said implementers of the policy might have just forgotten that workers are spared from it.

“Very clear na may mga implementers natin na… in their enthusiasm siguro to protect the public eh nakalimutan nila na exempted ‘yung ating mga workers,” the Labor chief said.

(It’s very clear that our implementers have…maybe in their enthusiasm to protect the public, they forgot that the public is exempted.)

Bello said unvaccinated and partially vaccinated workers only need to present their company identification cards for them to be allowed in public utility vehicles.

“Mas maganda sana kung meron silang [it would be better if they have] certification from their employers na sila ay empleyado [proving they are employees] and they’re reporting to office, but I think for the moment, that company ID will suffice,” Bello said.

In a separate interview on ANC, Bello stressed that the ‘no vaccinaton, no ride’ policy is not irrelevant despite exempting workers as even those unvaccinated have to undergo RT-PCR tests when they report to work.

“That is the reason why safe sila kasi magp-PCR ‘yan, lalabas na negative. Otherwise, hindi sila tatanggapin sa trabaho,” he said.

(That is why it’s safe if they tested negative for the RT-PCR, otherwise they would not be allowed to go to work.)

He added that employers have the privilege to require unvaccinated workers to get RT-PCR test to prevent the spread of the virus in workplaces.

Bello, however, emphasized that employers cannot terminate those who do not want to or cannot get vaccinated against COVID-19 due to various reasons.

The Department of Labor and Employment earlier released an advisory urging employers to adopt and implement a paid isolation and quarantine leave program on top of existing leave benefits under the company policy, collective bargaining agreement, the Labor Code of the Philippines, and special laws.

“Hindi namin sila inuutusan. It is not mandatory, it is only pakikiusap, urging them to be more compassionate and give their workers additional paid leaves kasi lalong lalo na’t naka-quarantine sila or naka-isolate sila,” Bello clarified.

(We are not ordering them. It is not mandatory, we are only pleading, urging them to be more compassionate and give their workers additional paid leaves especially if they are quarantined or isolated because of COVID-19.)

The public transport policy is being implemented in the National Capital Region (NCR) which is under Alert Level 3. It was in line with President Rodrigo Duterte’s directive to restrict the movement of people who are unvaccinated against COVID-19 in Metro Manila, which is experiencing a surge in COVID-19 cases.

The Department of Health (DOH) said Tuesday that 15 areas in the NCR already have cases of the highly transmissible Omicron coronavirus variant.

The Philippines recently recorded 28,471 new COVID-19 infections, bringing the country's total case count to 3,270,758. —KBK, GMA News