The Department of the Interior and Local Government (DILG) on Tuesday nudged local government units (LGUs) to be consistent with their vaccination efforts ahead of the start of the campaign period for local candidates.
In a “Laging Handa” briefing, Interior Undersecretary Epimaco Densing said some parts of the country had yet to reach the 70-percent vaccination rate, which is necessary to downgrade to Alert Level 1.
“Ang gusto naming sabihin dito na ipagpatuloy pa sana natin ang pagbabakuna despite the fact na nagsisimula na po ang kampaniyahan sa lokal na eleksyon,” he said.
“[S]ana huwag pabayaan ang pagbabakuna. May mga lugar pa rin tayo sa Pilipinas na wala pang sitenta porsiyento ang target population ang nabakunahan,” he added.
The campaign period for candidates running for local posts will start on March 25.
The Department of Health earlier said the entire Philippines must be under Alert Level 1 before the government would start de-escalating areas to Alert Level 0.
Sixty-four areas in the country are under Alert Level 1 from March 16-31. John Ezekiel J. Hirro