THERE is now a need for Congress to pass a law that would protect all vaccinated individuals against those who will refuse to receive coronavirus disease-19 (COVID-19) vaccines pursuant the general welfare clause of the Constitution, according to Cavite Rep. Elpidio Barzaga Jr.

Barzaga said that under the General Welfare clause, “the State is mandated to make rules and regulations to protect the lives of the majority of its citizens. A person who is not vaccinated is a risk to the lives of others and to the general community.”

“The State can therefore enact a general law protecting those who are vaccinated from those who are not vaccinated. While others might argue that such law shall be discriminatory – discriminating those vaccinated against those non-vaccinated – nonetheless there shall be no violation of the constitutional rights to due process and equal protection clause. Every individual therefore to avoid adverse consequences must allow themselves to be vaccinated,” Barzaga, chairman of the House committee on natural resources, said.

A survey of the University of the Philippines-OCTA research team last February showed that only 19 percent are willing to be vaccinated, 46 percent are unwilling and 35 percent are undecided.

Barzaga said that while the number of those who want to be vaccinated is increasing, the number will not be enough to protect the population for as long as there are people who will continue to refuse inoculation.

The senior lawmaker said that while the Constitution guarantees the right to life of every individual, “such right is subservient to the paramount interest of the lives of the greater majority.”

Article II, Section 5 of the Constitution (Declaration of Principles and State Policies) states: “The maintenance of peace and order, the protection of life, liberty, and property, and the promotion of the general welfare are essential for the enjoyment by all the people of the blessings of democracy.”

Barzaga, the president of the National Unity Party (NUP) in the House of Representatives, said that under the general welfare clause, it would be legal and constitutionally accepted for an employer to issue a policy that only vaccinated applicants can be employed.

He said malls can impose a regulation that only those vaccinated shall be permitted to enter while restaurants and hotels can accept only persons who have been vaccinated.

Barzaga said private parks can refuse entrance to those who are not vaccinated and even schools can impose a restriction that its enrollees must be fully vaccinated as a condition for enrollment.

“Even the right to travel shall be restricted,” said Barzaga, who is a CPA lawyer by profession. “COVID-19 is real and it has come closer to home. It has touched all of us, where every one of us has a parent, sibling, relative, friend, co-worker who has been infected by this deadly virus.”

Barzaga argued that the State has no option but to protect those who are vaccinated, noting that the average direct medical cost is at least P400,00.00 for a four-day stay in the hospital by a patient suffering mild COVID-19.

“Unfortunately, this financial cost is nowhere near the total harm caused by the pandemic. A great number of us are fearful of getting infected. We are subjected to restrictions on mobility but we all know that these measures are not enough. Social distancing, masking, basic COVID-19 protocols work but vaccination is an important key to stop this pandemic,” he said.

On an individual level, the lawmaker said vaccination will protect an individual from getting COVID-19 but “unfortunately, we have observed the hesitancy to accept a COVID-19 vaccine.”

“Little do we realize that getting vaccinated protects us and the people around us, particularly people who are at an increased risk for severe illness from COVID-19. We need to increase vaccine confidence and improve the public’s understanding of how it can help control the spread of COVID-19 in their families and communities,” he said.