Vaccination mandated for commuters on Manila public transit

People who are not fully vaccinated against COVID-19 are being banned from riding public transport in the Philippine capital region in a desperate move to curb spiking infections

MANILA, Philippines -- People who are not fully vaccinated against COVID-19 were banned from riding public transport in the Philippine capital region Monday in a desperate move that has sparked protests from labor and human rights groups.

The Philippines's vaccination campaign has been dogged by public hesitancy and delays, while the highly contagious omicron variant has fueled a recent spike in infections. From less than a thousand new cases daily during the Christmas holidays, the Department of Health counted a record of more than 39,000 on Saturday.

Under the Department of Transportation’s “no vax, no ride” policy, commuters who are not fully vaccinated will not be allowed to ride public jeepneys, taxis, buses, sea ferries and commercial planes to and from and within Metropolitan Manila unless they show proof that they are on urgent errands or cannot be vaccinated for medical reasons. The restriction will last at least to the end of January and was an offshoot of President Rodrigo Duterte’s warning that unvaccinated Filipinos who defy orders to stay at home to ease community infections could face arrest.

“There are indeed legitimate reasons for aiming to vaccinate as many people as possible. However, these reasons should not prevent people from freedom of movement,” said Butch Olano of Amnesty International in the Philippines. Experts say the policy’s legality could be questioned before the Supreme Court.