The chair of the House of Representatives Committee on Labor and Employment thumbed down the policy of making coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) vaccination a mandatory condition for work being implemented by some businesses.
1PACMAN Party-list Representative Enrico Pineda said the “no jab, no job” policy requiring a person to be vaccinated so that he or she may be able to make a living is “not right.”
“Although I am in favor of vaccination so that we can attain herd immunity, I don’t believe that it should be forced upon our people,” Pineda said.
“My body, my decision.”
“Restricting access to a livelihood on the basis of one’s choice not to be vaccinated is violative of their basic right to choose, their right to free will. My body, my decision,” the legislator stressed.
“Neither the government nor an employer should be able to dictate what individuals must do to their bodies.”
The lawmaker said he believes that neither the government nor an employer should be able to dictate what individuals must do to their bodies.
“If a person chooses not to take the COVID-19 vaccine, due to any reason they may have, then we should respect that choice. We should not treat them any different. Of course, they should still follow the safety protocols and take care of themselves, as the virus is still around and anyone can still contract and spread it,” he said.
Pineda noted that the Centers for Disease Control (CDC), composed of specialists “working tirelessly” to help fight the virus, is also not in favor of the “No Jab, No Job” policy.
“The experts do not believe that a person must be vaccinated even if they do not want to. I support the right to choose and I support the CDC and its initiatives in preventing the spread of the COVID-19 virus,” he concluded.
