Pres. Duterte urges CPP-NPA: Help in safe, unhampered delivery of vaccines

By Jerome Carlo R. Paunan /Presidential photo

CALOOCAN CITY, Feb. 9 (PIA) — President Rodrigo Roa Duterte on Monday appealed to the Communist Party of the Philippines – New People’s Army (CPP-NPA) to help the government in the safe and unhampered transport of the COVID-19 vaccines nationwide, set to be administered to qualified Filipinos for fee.

“I am appealing to the Communist Party of the Philippines. The CPP must guarantee that the vaccines in the course of being transported to areas where there are no city health officers or medical persons, na ‘wag ninyo galawin ang medisina, allow the vaccines to be transported freely and safely,” Duterte said in a televised address following his meeting with officials of the Inter-Agency Task Force for the Management of Infectious Diseases (IATF-EID) in Malacañang.

“The vaccine is for the Filipino people,” Duterte emphasized.

The Chief Executive has also asked the CPP-NPA not to intercept the vaccines and to observe the right of Filipinos to get a vaccine against COVID-19.

“As I have said, the money belongs to the Filipino people. The credit goes to no one. Sa inyo ito mga taong Filipino,” the President said.

“So natural lang na kayong mga members ng CPP and the allied, NPA, NDF [National Democratic Front] or whatever, kindly observe the rules of humanity.”

For now, the government has not yet announced the exact date on the start of the national vaccination rollout, however, it may happen mid-February, as it expressed 100 percent readiness to start the vaccination campaign.

Duterte said if there is no suitable venue for the inoculation, he will order the utilization of public school buildings while face-to-face classes remain prohibited amid the Covid-19 pandemic.

“Pero kung kulang talaga, my order is to utilize public school buildings. If there is no malaking coliseum or gym, then we will utilize the schools,” he said. (PIA NCR)