ACT TEACHERS Rep. France Castro on Wednesday slammed the Department of Education for saying that vaccination for teachers will not be a “matter of choice” in case face-to-face classes resume.

Castro said getting a vaccine should be a matter of choice for teachers as they still have the right to choose a treatment they prefer. She added that vaccination should not be a requisite for the resumption of physical classes.

DepEd Undersecretary Nepomuceno Malaluan earlier said that vaccination will not be a matter of choice for teachers if it would be part of the protocol for face-to-face classes.

“DepEd and the Duterte administration should instead ensure that teachers would get higher priority in the vaccination plan and make sure that what they would offer to teachers is a free, efficacious and safe vaccine to let our teachers gain trust in the vaccines. Piliin ang bakuna na may magandang reputasyon, upang tumaas ang kumpyansa ng mga guro dito at maiwasan ang pagdadalawang-isip,” Castro said.

“It is very alarming to note that there is poor public confidence in the Duterte administration’s vaccination plan especially with their lack in transparency and its priority in a vaccine with the lowest efficacy rate,” she added.

The lawmaker said it is the government’s responsibility and mandate to provide the people the safest and most cost-efficient vaccine.

“Giving priority to vaccinate education frontliners should not remove their right to choose which vaccine they will opt to get if they choose to be vaccinated,” Castro added.

“Having vaccines should not even be a prerequisite for having face-to-face classes. There are already studies and recommendations by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention of the United States, UNICEF and proposals from the Philippine Pediatric Society on how to safely reopen schools to conduct face-to-face classes amid the pandemic and even without the vaccine,” she added.