SC urged to declare reso on mandatory vaccination null and void

Published May 13, 2022 12:26 AM By JOAHNA LEI CASILAO,GMA News

Several groups on Thursday called on the Supreme Court to declare COVID-related policy regulatory issuances, including the IATF resolution on mandatory vaccination, as null and void.

In a 157-page petition, the petitioners seek to declare null and void for being unconstitutional a total of 17 resolutions, ordinances, and memorandums.

One of these is Resolution No. 148-B

, which requires onsite workers in some areas to get vaccinated. Though they may not be terminated, unvaccinated employees are required to undergo RT-PCR tests and shoulder the cost.

The 15 petitioners from the COVID Call to Humanity, Concerned Doctors and Citizens of the Philippines, Legal Lightworkers for Life and Liberty, and Juan Dakila Movement also seek a temporary restraining order to be issued against the implementation of the said policies.

“I believe that the government has crossed the red line and has committed infractions on human rights on the part of a good number of Filipinos,” lead counsel lawyer Pacifico Agabin said in a press conference.

Agabin said the petitioners are medical experts, pastors, government and private company employees, and teachers.

One of the arguments of the petitioners is that studies confirm that the protection gained from vaccination wanes over time.

However, the National Task Force special adviser Ted Herbosa has said that though this happens, individuals who have been vaccinated against COVID-19 will still create antibodies against the illness.

Further, petitioners said that the waning effectiveness of vaccines shows that these do not stop infections or transmission, something that has been repeatedly stressed by health authorities.

The Health Department has repeatedly stressed that vaccines only seek to protect the public from severe COVID-19 infection and even vaccinated individuals may still get infected or transmit the virus.

Petitioners also argue that there have been reports of adverse events from COVID-19 vaccines.

For its part, the Department of Health has repeatedly assured that vaccines are safe and effective and that the benefits outweigh the risks. It has also said that adverse events following immunization may not necessarily be due to vaccines.

Meanwhile, respondents named are the Inter-Agency Task Force (IATF), Health Secretary Francisco Duque III, Executive Secretary Salvador Medialdea, Interior Secretary Eduardo Año, Transportation Secretary Arthur Tugade, Education Secretary Leonor Briones, and Makati City.

In December last year, some residents of General Santos City also filed a complaint against the IATF over the mandatory vaccination. —NB, GMA News

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