Press Release
November 9, 2021

Dispatch from Crame No. 1172:
Sen. Leila M. de Lima's statement on the "No Vaccine, No Subsidy" proposal

11/9/21

As the principal author of R.A. 11310 or the 4Ps Act, I find as reprehensible and unacceptable the proposal to impose vaccination as a condition to availment of the cash subsidies under said law. I join the call of some of my colleagues, notably, Senators Drilon, Hontiveros, Pangilinan and Pimentel, to scrap said proposal.

Labag sa batas at hindi makatao ang "no vaccine, no subsidy" na niluluto ng gobyernong ito. They cannot just add a conditionality which is not found in the law. And any amendatory law imposing vaccination as a precondition for 4Ps aid availment would be downright oppressive.

Ang mga benepisyo ng 4Ps ay hindi utang na loob ng mamamayan sa gobyerno, Binibigay yan dahil obligasyon at nararapat. We crafted the 4Ps law in close consultation with stakeholders precisely to ensure that beneficiaries will become empowered as rights-holders. Hindi yung ituring silang taga-tanggap lang ng ayuda na puwedeng bawiin batay sa kapritso ng mga nasa kapangyarihan o sa panibagong polisiya na walang sapat na batayan.

I ask - Is there data showing that many or most of the 4Ps beneficiaries refuse to be vaccinated? Is there proof of high infection rate among them? Have they been duly enlightened about the benefits and safety of vaccines? Do they, especially the poorest of the poor, have access to vaccines?

We are not seeing an intensified information drive to address vaccine hesitancy and an efficient vaccine distribution system. So why resort to arm-twisting to force people to toe the line? Bakit mamamayan na naman ang paparusahan sa kapalpakan ng pandemic response? Tatakutin pa na babawiin ang tanging pantawid nila sa gitna ng pandemya.

Inuulit ko - Ang 4Ps ay tulong sa ating mga kababayan na nangangailangan. Hindi ito kasangkapan para pilitin ang mga tao na naghahanap ng paglilinaw at impormasyon sa bakuna.

This regime has blatantly narrowed the options for the poor to survive this pandemic. No one should be forced under conditions where the only way they can live for one more day is for them to give up their basic freedoms. ###

(Access the handwritten version, here: https://issuu.com/senatorleilam.delima/docs/dispatch_from_crame_no._1172)

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