Former Defense Secretary Gilbert Teodoro is currently in hot waters after accepting the offer of Davao City Mayor Sara Duterte-Carpio to get inoculated in Davao City.
Teodoro, who hails from Tarlac, proudly posted on his Facebook that he is going to Davao, and in a private jet to meet his bets for the 2022 elections.
LOOK: Former Camarines Sur Rep. Rolando Andaya Jr. shares photos of him with former Defense Sec. Gilbert Teodoro in a Facebook post. He says they’re going to Davao.
"On my way with my Vice President to meet my President. Done deal folks," Andaya says | @xianneangel pic.twitter.com/QLLxonaWAF
— CNN Philippines (@cnnphilippines) June 3, 2021
But he also received his first dose of Sinovac’s Covid-19, being classified as a person with comorbidity.
https://twitter.com/RG_Cruz12479/status/1400355392031391744
However, this meant that he jumped the line given that he is not a resident of Davao.
Columnist Manuel Quezon III narrated in a nutshell how Teodoro became a person with comorbidity: because of Sara Duterte-Carpio.
“Pabakuna kayo? Anong comorbidity meron?”
“Interesado akong tumakbo.”
“Paano yan naging comorbidity?”
“Gusto kong ka-tandem si Inday.”
“Ay comorbidity nga.” https://t.co/mylMmEEJyc— Manuel L. Quezon III (@mlq3) June 3, 2021
Meanwhile, Davaoeños cried afoul as some of them were awaiting their respective jabs and yet a resident of Tarlac gets to be vaccinated first.
Dr. Jhoanna Lynn Cruz, a resident of Davao, exposed the vaccination system in the city where walk-ins are being accepted despite their policy prohibiting such.
https://twitter.com/JhoannaLynnCruz/status/1400363952257703936
https://twitter.com/JhoannaLynnCruz/status/1400374319050477569
Another resident of Davao shared that most people under A3 are still not being immunized against Covid-19. Moreover, he felt insulted after hearing that a non-resident gets a jab first.
https://twitter.com/reilbenedict/status/1400373274773647360
One even suggested that Teodoro should not have opted for a pictorial if he used his connections to skip the lines.
Kung ganitong gagamit ng palakasan/ impluwensiya sana privately na lang. Kapal pa ng mukhang mag photo op eh.
— RC (@jst4kx13) June 3, 2021
A netizen, who is from Tarlac, lambasted Teodoro who only resurfaced after being offered by Duterte-Carpio a dose of Sinovac.
https://twitter.com/chargeto200/status/1400351691514339330
A netizen even described how Davaoeños would feel after knowing that Teodoro, who not only did not wait in line but was also not a resident of Davao, gets inoculated first—furious.
So distasteful, to say the least. Kung taga-Davao ako, magwawala ako na nakauna ang mokong na yan sa bakuna amid when cases and deaths in my city is rising unabated. https://t.co/zjnM4l5fKQ
— Rupert Dupert (@rupertnotholmes) June 3, 2021
Meanwhile, Camarines Sur Rep. Rolando Andaya defended Teodoro by saying that the former Defense Secretary did not jump the line. However, a Netizen stressed that Teodoro did jump in the line since he is not a resident of Davao, taking a vaccine slot from an actual resident.
Andaya says Gibo didn't jump the line when he got his vaccine in Davao. Yes he did jump the line, he isn't a resident of Davao hence he took a vaccine slot from a resident. Wala pang power abusado na.
— Gina A. Policarpio (@gapolicarpio) June 3, 2021
With Teodoro taking his Covid-19 shot in Davao, ABS-CBN journalist, Lynda Jumilla-Abalos ridiculed the former Defense Secretary by saying that she didn’t know he has a house in Davao.
Oh, i didn’t know gibo teodoro has a house in davao city. https://t.co/pqK92xE6LJ
— Lynda Jumilla-Abalos (@lyndajumilla) June 3, 2021
Philippine Vaccination Program issues
EpiMetrics Inc.’s Dr. John Wong, on Wednesday (June 2), declared that the country is falling behind its target vaccination especially to the priority sectors such as A2 or senior citizens and A3 or person with comorbidity.
The national government has set a goal of 70% of the entire Philippine population should have been vaccinated by the end of the year.
Based on the data, the A1 sector, or frontline healthcare workers, has reached almost 91%. However, the A2 and A3 sectors are only at 14% and 8%, respectively.
“Before we say that this is due to vaccine hesitancy, we have to remember that vaccination confidence, which is the opposite of vaccine hesitancy, is at 32%,” Dr. Wong said in a discussion with the Department of Health (DOH).
Wong also expressed his concern about not hitting the target since it is hindered not only by access but also by hesitancy.
“At this level, we know that some of these people want the vaccine but cannot access it, so aside from the vaccine hesitancy issue, we also have to address access issues.”
