Rappler
Duterte wants 9 mayors to explain why they jumped vaccine line
President Rodrigo Duterte acknowledged a "gray area" regarding mayors who received COVID-19 vaccines ahead of healthcare workers.
The President wants 9 mayors to explain why they were administered with COVID-19 vaccines when these are reserved for medical frontliners.
Several mayors have been issued show cause orders by the Department of Interior and Local Government for allegedly jumping the vaccination line.
The mayors ordered to explain their actions include those from Tacloban City, T'boli, Sto. Nino, Legazpi City, and Bataraza.
Other local chief executives, including those from Minglanilla, Alicia, San Miguel, and Lila, also reportedly received vaccine doses before frontline medical personnel.
Duterte mentioned that a child of a celebrity was among those who jumped the line, indicating that the priority list wasn't followed.
He floated that the officials might be liable for malversation or estafa and ordered government officials to file complaints with the Office of the Ombudsman if the mayors are in the wrong.
The government's vaccination priority list clearly states that inoculations must begin with frontline health workers.
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The Department of the Interior and Local Government (DILG) has issued show cause orders to a total of thirteen officials, including twelve mayors and one councilor, for allegedly violating the COVID-19 vaccine priority list.
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Malacañang warned that the Philippines could lose 44 million free COVID-19 vaccine doses from the COVAX facility if the priority list for vaccination is not strictly followed.
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Tacloban Mayor Alfred Romualdez received the Sinovac vaccine on March 22, stating his intention was to address vaccine hesitancy among healthcare workers and the public.
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Minglanilla Mayor Elanito Peña received the AstraZeneca COVID-19 vaccine on March 23, bypassing the priority list.
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The Department of the Interior and Local Government (DILG) is planning to file a case against Parañaque City Mayor Edwin Olivarez for alleged special treatment of actor Mark Anthony Fernandez, who was inoculated with the coronavirus vaccine ahead of healthcare workers.
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