President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. is hoping for the successful resumption of face-to-face classes later this month, noting that it will boost economic recovery from the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic.
In his weekly vlog uploaded Saturday, Marcos enjoined local government units (LGUs) anew to be more aggressive in their COVID-19 vaccination and booster drives to ensure the safety of everyone, especially students, once Academic Year 2022-2023 starts on August 22, 2022.
Citing government data, he said some 15.9 million Filipinos have received their first COVID-19 booster shots while over 1.2 million have received their second booster doses.
Marcos Jr. admitted that it is still far from the government’s target of administering at least 23-million COVID-19 booster shots in his first 100 days in office.
“Kaya hindi tayo magsasawang pakiusapan ang ating LGU na maging mas agresibo dito sa kampanyang ito,” he said.
He also acknowledged that getting more Filipinos to get their COVID-19 jabs and booster shots is not easy perhaps it is crucial when it comes to reopening of more sectors.
“Hindi man ito ganung kasimple pero kapag tama ang paghahanda ay siguradong magiging matagumpay ito,” he added.
According to Marcos Jr., the resumption of F2F classes will revive economic activities in establishments around schools such as school supplies stores, retail industry, and in public transport. Parents will also have the opportunity to go back to work while their children are in school, which means an increase in workforce.
“Kapag ito ay naging matagumpay, hindi lang ito balik-eskuwela kundi balik-negosyo, balik-hanapbuhay at balik-kaunlaran. Ito ay masasabi ring malaking tulong sa malawakang kilusan natin ng pagbubukas ng ekonomiya,” he said.
Marcos Jr. reminded industries to continue enforcing minimum public health standards to prevent a spike in COVID-19 cases.
“Maraming industriya ang magiging bahagi at makikinabang sa hakbang na ito kung kaya’t dapat nating siguruhin na ang lahat ay handang-handa,” he added.
Meanwhile, President Marcos Jr. personally visited a vaccination site in Pasig last August 1 to observe and encourage more to receive primary and booster shots.
“Wala naman tayong ibang panlaban dito kung hindi ang vaccine. Huwag na po natin hintayin na dumami pa ang mga kaso at maging mahirap na naman ang ating pagpunta sa trabaho, ang ating paglabas ng bahay,” he said in his speech.
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