President Rodrigo Duterte on Monday night threatened to jail people who refuse to be vaccinated against COVID-19 even as jabs remain elusive for many Filipinos.
Duterte, in a late night address, warned Filipinos not to force his hand as he reiterated the government's call to the public to get vaccinated.
"Kung ayaw mo magpabakuna, ipaaresto kita at ang bakuna, itusok ko sa puwet mo. Put*ng ina, bw*sit kayo," he said.
"Magpabakuna kayo or ipakulong ko kayo sa selda," he added.
While Filipinos are encouraged to get vaccinated, health officials earlier said that the initiative was voluntary. At vaccination sites, recipients are asked to fill up a form on their willingness to get vaccinated.
The President asked local government officials to find those who refuse to get vaccinated against COVID-19, saying they could be "potential carriers" of the virus.
" To protect the people, I have to sequester you in jail," he said.
While he admitted to being "exasperated" with some Filipinos' refusal to get vaccinated, he said he would "think it over ver hard legally" even as he reiterated his threat.
As of June 20, Philippine authorities had fully vaccinated 2.1 million people, making slow progress towards the government's target to immunize up to 70 million people this year in a country of 110 million.
Since the start of the pandemic, the Philippines has reported over 1.3 million COVID-19 cases and more than 23,000 deaths.
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