Get jabbed or jailed
… Philippine President Rodrigo Duterte threatens Filipinos
MANILA - Philippine President Rodrigo Duterte has threatened to arrest those who refuse Covid-19 vaccines, as the nation grapples with one of Asia's worst outbreaks.
The Philippines has recorded 1.3 million cases and 23, 000 deaths. It has also recorded 17 cases of the delta variant that has been rampaging across India, reported local website Rappler.
"If you don't want to get vaccinated, I'll have you arrested then I'll inject a vaccine into your buttocks," said Duterte in a televised address on Monday.
"Get vaccinated, or I'll jail you in a cell," he said.
He also told those who do not want the vaccine to leave the Philippines and "go to India if you want, or America, or somewhere."
"But for as long as you are here and you are a human being and can carry the virus, you should get vaccinated," he said.
He threatened to keep a record of people refusing vaccinations and inoculate them with Ivermectin, an anti-parasitic drug for animals that is rumoured to help treat Covid-19 but is not approved, reported The Philippine Star.
However, Duterte did not provide any legal basis for his orders. Justice Secretary Menardo Gueverra told The Philippine Star's Kristine Patag that there is no law in the country yet that criminalizes refusing
to take the Covid-19 vaccine.
Gueverra added that he believed Duterte "merely used strong words to drive home the need for us to get vaccinated and reach herd immunity as soon as possible."