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Updated June 24th, 2021 at 10:40 IST

Philippines: 'Get vaccinated or be ready to take injection 'meant for pigs', warns Duterte

The Philippines President Rodrigo Duterte has also threatened Filipinos to get vaccinated against COVID-19 at the earliest or be prepared to face a prison term.

Rodrigo Duterte, Philippines
Twitter @PIADESK/AP | Image:self
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Philippine President Rodrigo Duterte has warned that those who refuse to get COVID-19 vaccination will be jailed. It has been observed that in some of the vaccination centres in the Philippine capital- Manila- fewer people have been vaccinated. President Rodrigo Duterte said the government aims to vaccinate 70 million of the country's 110 million people by this year. So far 2.1 million people there have been vaccinated with two doses. 

The Philippines is currently in the middle of a medical crisis with COVID-19, due to which the President has warned that those who refuse to be vaccinated will face imprisonment. 

Rodrigo Duterte's stern warning

In a controversial remark, he threatened citizens refusing to get COVID jabs to 'go to India or America if they want to have a choice regarding vaccination. As part of a pre-recorded televised address, Duterte voiced his exasperation at those unwilling to comply with laws. 'As long as you are here and you are a human being that can carry the virus,' he said.

Duterte also issued another alarming threat against his citizens who refuse the vaccines: He warned that anti-vaxxers will be injected with a dose of ivermectin, an anti-parasite drug used to treat animals.

'I will order all the village captains to have a tally of the people who refuse to be vaccinated. Because if not, I will have Ivermectin meant for pigs injected into you.'

COVID-19 in the Philippines:

The Philippines currently has over 1.3 million active Coronavirus cases according to news agency ANI and on Wednesday, June 23, it has registered over 4,300 fresh cases.

Who is Rodrigo Duterte?

 is a Filipino politician who is the 16th and current president of the Philippines. He is the chairperson of PDP–Laban, the ruling political party in the Philippines. Duterte took office at age 71 on June 30, 2016, making him the oldest person to assume the Philippine presidency. 

Frequently described as a nationalist, Duterte's political success has been aided by his vocal support for the extrajudicial killing of drug users and other criminals, due to which Duterte's political career has also received scrutiny. Various human rights groups documented over 1,400 killings allegedly by death squads operating in Davao between 1998 and 2016; the victims were mainly drug users, petty criminals, and street children.

A 2009 report by the Philippine Commission on Human Rights confirmed the "systematic practise of extrajudicial killings" by the Davao Death Squad. Duterte who is famous for his sentences is seen as a fearsome man who frequently guns down drug trafficking gangs. Therefore, his warning may actually hold value and be implemented if the situation doesn't change.

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Published June 24th, 2021 at 10:40 IST

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