Possible manpower shortage and some legal issues may hamper the implementation of President Duterte’s proposal to make novel coronavirus disease (Covid-19) vaccination mandatory for government workers, according to the Civil Service Commission (CSC).
The President made the pronouncement as almost 91,000 government workers tested positive for Covid-19 from March 2020 to April 2021 based on CSC data. Of these, 1,283 have died after being infected with the disease.
Policy feasibility
CSC Commissioner Aileen Lizada said her office is now studying the feasibility of the proposal, which was announced by Duterte during his public address last Monday.
“This needs to be deliberated by the Commission. We will be having a Commission meeting this Friday,” Lizada said in a radio interview on Tuesday.
She said they will be gathering the data on how many of the estimated 1.7 million government employees are already fully vaccinated and how many are still not inoculated.
“I think it is high time now to gather the data needed on how many in the government are vaccinated so we could think of ways and the solutions on how to move forward taking into consideration the welfare of the government employees and not sacrificing public service,” Lizada said.
The CSC official said this would be crucial so they could determine if there is still a need to make vaccination mandatory.
During their meeting, she said, they will also consider what will be the protocols in case a worker still refuses to be vaccinated.
Duterte said he would ask government workers, who refuse to be vaccinated, to leave public service.
Lizada said the policy could disrupt government operations if a considerable number of its workers refused to get Covid-19 jab.
Legal basis
Another issue, which could hamper the policy, Lizada said, is the legal issues surrounding the mandatory vaccination.
The CSC top official said she maintains a similar position of the Department of Labor and Employment (DOLE) when it banned mandatory vaccination for private sector employees.
DOLE said there is currently still no law, which could serve as basis for the said policy.
“Personally, I support the same [position], that there should be a law…but since we [CSC] are a collegial body, we need to consult,” Lizada told the BusinessMirror in a Viber message.
In an online press briefing last Tuesday, Presidential spokesman Harry Roque said Duterte is willing to back the pending legislation, which would make Covid-19 vaccination an employment requirement.
“That’s the jurisdiction of Congress, but the President can always certify an administration bill for such a law,” Roque said.