Metro mayors call for easing of restrictions for fully vaccinated individuals

The 17 mayors of Metro Manila on Thursday called on the national government to relax the COVID-19 restrictions for fully vaccinated individuals in the National Capital Region (NCR).

In Metropolitan Manila Development Authority (MMDA) Resolution No. 21-19, the Metro Manila Council - comprised of the region’s mayors - urged the Inter-Agency Task Force for the Management of Emerging Infectious Diseases (IATF) to consider the easing of COVID-19 guidelines for the fully-vaccinated, “subject to the conduct of an inter-agency and inter-disciplinary study to determine the appropriate policy therefore based on scientific and empirical evidence.”

READ: Metro Manila mayors unanimously call for easing of COVID-19 restrictions for fully-vaccinated individuals in NCR. @gmanews @gmanewsbreaking pic.twitter.com/bEZUlWz0h4

— Ted Cordero (@Ted_Cordero) September 9, 2021

The Metro Manila mayors argued that the easing of restrictions in favor of the fully vaccinated ones “would not only boost employment, industry, services, and other economic endeavors but would likewise encourage the rest of the population to have themselves vaccinated with the end of achieving herd immunity at the soonest possible time.”

In a separate statement, Presidential adviser for Entrepreneurship Joey Concepcion welcomed the Metro Manila mayors’ resolution.

“The call of the MMC is in line with the Bakuna Bubble model Go Negosyo has been pushing for – providing mobility to fully vaccinated individuals to help revive the economy,” Concepcion said.

‘Whether we like it or not, we should learn how to co-exist with COVID-19 as the virus could persist for a long time. Bakuna Bubble is a win-win solution where we can co-exist with the virus while helping the economy recover from the effects of the pandemic,” he added.

Concepcion has been pushing for the implementation of “bakuna bubbles” in Metro Manila cities with high vaccination rates. 

The so-called “bakuna bubbles” are of micro-herd immunity among closed groups, such as homes and workplaces.

The solution has been proposed to enable the economy to safely reopen while the rest of the population is inoculated.

However, Justice Secretary Menardo Guevarra previously warned of legal challenges if the government pushes ahead with the policy, adding some could complain of discriminatory treatment.

The Metro Manila mayors, meanwhile, said, in their resolution, that the local government units in the NCR are mindful of health and public safety concerns.

The mayors noted that LGUs in the region are equally aware that the economic activity in the NCR must be bolstered by allowing fully-vaccinated individuals to engage in businesses and other activities which are prohibited under the Omnibus Guidelines on the Implementation of Community Quarantine in the Philippines.

They added that some LGUs in the region have reached or are nearing their vaccination targets after inoculating the residents and workers within their respective territories who belong to the A1 to A4 categories.

The MMC Resolution was signed by MMDA Chairman Benjamin Abalos Jr. and Mayors Carmelita Abalos (Mandaluyong City), Imelda Aguilar (Las Pinas City), Joy Belmonte (Quezon City), Abigail Binay (Makati City), Lino Cayetano (Taguig), Francisco Domagoso (City of Manila), Jaime Fresnedi (Muntinlupa City), Rex Gatchalian (Valenzuela City), Oscar Malapitan (Caloocan City), Edwin Olivarez (Paranaque City), Antolin Oreta III (Malabon City), Imelda Calixto-Rubiano (Pasay City), Vico Sotto (Pasig City), Marcelino Teodoro (Marikina City), Toby Tiangco (Navotas City), Francis Zamora (San Juan) and Miguel Ponce III (Pateros).—LDF, GMA News