Manila Bulletin
No law yet to punish one’s refusal to get COVID-19 vaccination – IBP
President Rodrigo Duterte threatened to order the arrest of individuals who refuse COVID-19 vaccination, stating "Mamili kayo: magpabakuna kayo o ipakulong ko kayo sa selda?"
The Integrated Bar of the Philippines (IBP) President Domingo Egon Q. Cayosa stated that there is no legal basis for arrest as there is no law yet punishing persons who refuse to be vaccinated.
Justice Secretary Menardo I. Guevarra clarified that the President has no intention of jailing those who refuse vaccination, believing Duterte merely used strong words to emphasize the need for vaccination.
Chief Presidential Legal Counsel Salvador Panelo, however, asserted that the Constitution gives the President the legal basis to make such arrests due to the national emergency.
Prior statements from the National Union of Peoples' Lawyers (NUPL) and Bayan Muna Chairman Neri Colmenares also dismissed the threat as illegal and baseless, as no law makes vaccination mandatory or criminalizes refusal.
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