Philippine President says take COVID-19 vaccine or get "shut in homes"

Philippine's President Rodrigo Duterte was back again threatening 57 million citizens on the airwaves Thursday in an attempt to boost his country's COVID-19 vaccination efforts. In a televised address, the Manila leader warned that Filipinos who refuse to get the jab against novel coronavirus will be "shut-in homes" under house detention.

He quickly added, that there is "no law" as such to do that or mandating such a restriction, but that he is ready to face lawsuits to have Filipinos “throwing viruses left and right off the streets" inoculated. In a shocking and equally brash remark, the Philippine's President added, that citizens who are vaccine-hesitant and reluctant to get their shot, “well, for all I care, you can die anytime.’”

Thus far, the island country's leader has been able to get nearly 7 million Filipinos fully vaccinated against deadly COVID-19, with at least 11 million that have received their first dose. The Philippines' government has been targetting to get at least 60 million to 70 million of the total population immunized. On July 29, therefore, as he pushed the non-vaccinated population to administer their first dose, Duerte warned that he had instructed the local officials to detain people who refuse COVID-19 vaccinations inside of their homes, should they refuse the vaccine, a move legal experts labeled as 'unconstitutional'.

'Get vaccinated or go to India or America..'

This wouldn't be the first time that Philippine President Rodrigo Duterte has threatened to jail the COVID-19 vaccine-hesitant residents.  Earlier at a national address, the infuriated leader had told Filipinos to get vaccinated or go to India or America, or otherwise, if they stayed and did not administer the jab, they would face prison cells that are “filthy and foul-smelling." “You choose, vaccine, or I will have you jailed,” Duerte stated, as he contradicted his own health officials who had shortly before said that inoculation for the citizens was “voluntary”. “Go to India if you want or somewhere, to America. But for as long as you are here and you are a human being and can carry the virus, get vaccinated,” the president said in his televised remarks.

He then mellowed down his condescending tone saying, “Don’t get me wrong, there is deadly COVID-19 crisis in this country. I’m just exasperated by Filipinos not heeding the government,” explaining that he aimed to boost the inoculation efforts to get maximum people jabbed in the island nation.

In April last year, the Philippine President took to the television broadcasts with a warning for his citizens saying that if they defy the lockdown, "the police will shoot you dead."