Justice Secretary Menardo Guevarra believes that President Rodrigo Duterte "merely used strong words" when he threatened those who will refuse to get their COVID-19 vaccines with jail time.
"I believe that the President merely used strong words to drive home the need for us to get vaccinated and reach herd immunity as soon as possible," Guevarra said in a statement on Tuesday.
"As a lawyer, he knows that not getting vaccinated is a legal choice; there is no law as yet that compels vaccination against COVID-19, much less criminalizes it, as presently available vaccines are still in their trial phases," he added.
On Monday, a seemingly agitated Duterte threatened to jail people who refuse to be vaccinated against the coronavirus as the Philippines battles one of Asia’s worst outbreaks, with over 1.3 million cases and more than 23,000 deaths.
“You choose, vaccine, or I will have you jailed,” Duterte said in a televised address on Monday following reports of low turnouts at several vaccination sites in the capital Manila.
Duterte’s remarks contradict those of his health officials who have said that while people are urged to receive the COVID-19 vaccine, it was voluntary.
“Don’t get me wrong, there is a crisis in this country,” Duterte said. “I’m just exasperated by Filipinos not heeding the government.”
