Ito ay matapos talakayin nina Department of Labor and Employment (DOLE) Secretary Silvestre Bello III, Department of Interior and Local Government (DILG) Secretary Eduardo Año, at Department of Transportation (DOTr) Secretary Art Tugade ang gagawing hakbang base sa vaccination data noong January 21.
Ayon kay DOTr Undersecretary for Administrative Service at official representative to the IATF Artemio Tuazon Jr., layon ng naturang desisyon na maprotektahan ang unvaccinated at partially vaccinated workers na gumagamit ng pampublikong transportasyon mula sa COVID-19.
“This is to ensure that only those fully protected against COVID-19 are safe from using public transport. Data show that workers who remain unvaccinated against the virus that causes COVID-19 are more vulnerable to severe and critical infections,” paliwanag ni Tuazon.
Kapag natapos na ang ibinigay na 30 araw sa nasabing bagong protocol, ang fully vaccinated workers na lamang ang papayagang makagamit ng pampublikong transportasyon.
Dagdag ni Tuazon, suportado ng desisyon ng tatlong kagawaran ang nagpapatuloy na COVID-19 vaccination drive ng pamahalaan.
“We want our workers to get fully vaccinated especially now that there is no longer a shortage of COVID-19 vaccines, and there is a threat of highly transmissible variants of the virus. We are giving our workers the time to get themselves vaccinated,” saad nito.
Nilinaw naman ng DOTr official na hindi “discriminatory” ang naturang desisyon.
“As jointly decided by the DOLE, DILG and DOTr, workers who will remain unvaccinated 30 days after the announcement are not being barred from their workplaces. They are simply not allowed to use public transportation, but can still use other means such as active transport, private vehicles, or company shuttle services,” pahayag ni Tuazon.