Labor Secretary Silvestre Bello III reiterated on Tuesday, November 9, that vaccination against COVID-19 cannot be made mandatory.
“Persons cannot be forced to be vaccinated because we live under a democratic society,” Bello stressed at a press conference at the Negros Residences in Bacolod City.
There is no law that requires everybody, including workers, to get vaccinated, he said.
However, a national Inter-Agency Task Force (NIATF) resolution requires that workers at restaurants, hotels and personal care establishments must be fully vaccinated, he said.
Meanwhile, Gov. Eugenio Jose Lacson said the Negros Occidental provincial government will abide by the guidelines of the NIATF on when minors can be allowed to go out of their homes.
We are being guided by NIATF rules, and if minors are allowed out they should be accompanied by their parents, he said.
Bello said local executives have the discretion to agree or not with NIATF guidelines.*