Climaco administration wins anew in vax program

THE DUTERTE administration has congratulated the Zamboanga City government for being Number 1 in the country in the implementation of the national vaccination program dubbed “Bayanihan Bakunahan” and the Safety Seal certification, including the digital vaccine certificate.

Zamboanga City was hailed 1st placer for the “2nd Doses Accomplishment” category, followed by Agusan del Sur and Taguig City while under the “A2 Doses” category, Ilocos Norte was the top-performing province followed by Ilocos Sur and Pampanga. Nueva Ecija was 1st placer for the “Total Doses Administered” category followed by Cavite and Bulacan.  

The winners for best performing local governments in support of the Bayanihan Bakunahan were determined by the Department of Health and categorized according to the percentage of accomplishments for 2nd doses, A2 doses, and total doses administered. 

The Department of the Interior and Local Government said Duterte congratulated the winning local governments and the chief executives for their able leadership amid the health crisis, and for being invaluable partners of the national government in executing important programs that contributed to the improved Covid-19 status of the country.   

“Salute to all the recipients of this day’s awards for your robust commitment and partnership with the national government as we altogether implement these programs down to the grassroots. I know and acknowledge that without your support, we would have not surmounted the past two years of this pandemic. Kaya nais kong ipaabot sa inyo ang aking taos-pusong pasasalamat,” Duterte said in a statement released by DILG Secretary Eduardo Año. 

Last November, Social Welfare Secretary Rolando Bautista hailed Zamboanga City’s vaccination program following a meeting with Climaco.

The official Philippine Information Agency in Western Mindanao (PIA) said Bautista went around Zamboanga during his November 30 visit and was pleased with the vaccination program. “The official (Bautista) is satisfied with the roll-out of the vaccination as the turn-out of residents is high,” PIA reported.

Bautista also spoke with Climaco and assured the mayor of the support of the Department of Social Welfare and Development in the government’s pro-poor program.  The mayor said the vaccination drive was a success and called it “an impressive feat that demonstrated strong collaboration between the local government and the private sectors.”  

Climaco, who is running for congresswoman in District 1, repeatedly thanked and expressed her gratitude to all the vaccination teams, volunteers, government and private agencies, business establishments, medical associations, security sector, City Health Office and the City Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Office, Emergency Operations Center team and the others who contributed to the successful conduct of the massive vaccination campaign.  

“Gracias a Dios por todos esfuerzos, sacrificio y amor por la vacunacion nacional. Con todo ya trabaja hasta na 98 barangay voluntarios y agencia national y aquellos que ya contribuye tambien todo que ya manda man vacuna. Ustedes de aton fuerza a favor de Dios,” Climaco said.  

Año said that two years into the pandemic, the winners have demonstrated synergy with the government’s implementation of various programs. He said the rest of the local governments can learn from the winners and implore them to emulate their victory. 
 
“The victory of today's winners are founded on their cooperation and support to these programs which have changed the landscape of the country's Covid-19 response. Pagbati sa inyong tagumpay at hangad namin na kayo ay pamarisan ng iba pang mga LGU sa bansa,” Año said.   
  
“Vaccination is our main weapon against Covid-19 and to have the full commitment and support of the LGUs in this life-saving government initiative is an essential ingredient in public health protection. Congratulations to the winning LGUs at salamat sa inyong patuloy na paghahatid ng mga bakuna sa bawat Pilipino,” he added. 

Año said as more people are vaccinated against the deadly respiratory disease, millions more also are able to register for the VaxCertPH with the cities of Marikina, Iloilo, and Davao hailed as best performing local governments under the “Highly Urbanized City” category. 

He said that for the “Component City/Independent Component City” category, Antipolo City, Rizal is the winner for Luzon; Roxas City, Capiz for Visayas; and Malaybalay City, Bukidnon for Mindanao. For the “Municipality” category, San Simon in Pampanga bagged the citation for Luzon; Caluya in Antique for Visayas; and Manolo Fortich in Bukidnon for Mindanao. 
 
Winners were chosen using the percentage of line list submission, and the percentage of closed requests and were collated by the Department of Information and Communications Technology. The winners for the Safety Seal certification program were categorized depending on the issuing authority either the local government or the DILG.   

For the LGU-issued Safety Seals, Quezon City led the winners under the “Highly Urbanized City” category with 5,800 certifications granted to establishments and followed by Makati City with 3,538; and Pasay City with 2,181. Dasmariñas City, Cavite issued 500 certifications to get the 1st place for the “Component City/Independent Component City” category followed by Bacoor City, Cavite with 324 Seals, and Santa Rosa City, Laguna with 281.
 
For the Municipality category, Bambang in Nueva Vizcaya was hailed the winner with 807 Safety Seal certifications issued followed by Santa Niña in Cagayan with 541; and Naujan in Oriental Mindoro with 529. On the other hand, DILG-Manila City bagged 1st place for the DILG-issued Safety Seal certifications under the “Highly Urbanized City” category with 557 followed by DILG-Zamboanga City with 317; and 247 for DILG-Quezon City.  

With 284 Safety Seal certifications issued, the DILG-San Carlos City in Pangasinan led the “Component City/Independent Component City” category followed by Candon City, Ilocos Sur with 272; and 231 for DILG-Ormoc. The winners for the “Municipality” category was DILG-Santiago taking home the 1st place with 289 Safety Seal certifications issued and followed by DILG-Narvacan with 258; and DILG-Magsingal with 208. 
 
The Safety Seal program awards public and private establishments or buildings with a Safety Seal indicating that a particular building or establishment is compliant with health protocols against Covid-19. (Zamboanga Post)