Administration Senator Christopher Lawrence “Bong” Go backed calls by the business community asking the Duterte administration to consider an option granting incentives to fully vaccinated individuals to draw in more hesitant Filipinos to get their anti-Covid shots. This even as he prodded authorities to consider gradual relaxation of restrictions on doing business in Covid free areas.
The chairman of the Senate Committee on Health endorsed the appeal of several business establishments and franchisees for government authorities to study the possibility of “offering incentives to fully vaccinated individuals in order to encourage more Filipinos” still hesitant to get their Covid-19 shots.
In a statement Thursday, Go said: “Pag-aralan dapat natin nang mabuti ang pagbibigay ng insentibo sa mga bakunado, tulad ng mas maluwag na mga patakaran na ligtas pa rin. Maaaring pwede sila lumabas, makapagtrabaho at makagalaw nang mas konting restrictions pero compliant pa rin sa minimum health standards,” he said.
The senator stressed if would be a big help to boost the economy even as it boosts public confidence on the vaccine.
He recalled that earlier in the week, more than 1,000 businesses issued a manifesto lamenting the financial losses and liabilities they incurred due to the government imposed lockdowns, even as they aired an appeal it is “of utmost importance, as our employees have families to feed and stable employment is difficult to assure without a clear plan.”
“They declared complete support for Presidential Adviser for Entrepreneurship and Go Negosyo founder Joey Concepcion’s proposal for the introduction of the ‘bakuna bubble’ as a strategy to resuscitate the economy,” the senator said.
Go suggested an option that Covid-19 restrictions can be relaxed for fully vaccinated individuals under the proposed bakuna bubble seen to help promote the economy and “protect jobs of many Filipinos.”
Earlier, the senator affirmed support for the proposed bakuna bubble along with other options to “loosen some of the Covid-19 restrictions for fully vaccinated individuals” as long as minimum health standards remain in place.