MANILA – The Department of Labor and Employment (DOLE) said on Wednesday that the National Task Force Against Covid 19 has approved the request of four regions for more Covid-19 vaccines for their workers in the manufacturing and construction industries.
Factory workers in Regions 4-A (Calabarzon), 3 (Central Luzon), and 7 (Central Visayas), as well as construction workers in the National Capital Region (NCR), will receive a total of 452,000 doses of Covid-19 vaccine, according to Labor Secretary Silvestre Bello.
He commended the initiative, which will hasten the economy’s recovery and strengthen worker protection in the country’s manufacturing and construction industries.
“I sincerely thank vaccine czar Secretary Carlito Galvez for his positive and immediate response to our urgent request,” Bello said in a statement.
Bello admitted that vaccine supply issues exist, but that a portion of the supply must be set aside for workers who are actively contributing to the economy.
“We believe doing this would speed up economic recovery,” he said.
He further said that the recent 11.8 percent growth in the country’s gross national product shows the necessity to immunize active members of the economy.
“This is particularly true to the manufacturing and construction sectors that contributed much to that growth,” Bello said.
