By Celerina Monte

President Rodrigo Duterte said he will order the arrest of those who refused to have themselves vaccinated against coronavirus disease.

In the recorded "Talk to the People" aired on Monday night, Duterte said he will order the barangay captains to have a tally of the people who refuse to be vaccinated.

"Don't get me wrong. There is a crisis being faced in this country. There is a national emergency. If you don't want to be vaccinated, I will order your arrest," he said.

He said those who continue to refuse to avail of the government's free inoculation could leave the country.

"If you don't want to be vaccinated, leave the Philippines. Go to India if you want or somewhere, to America. But for as long as you are here and you are a human being, and can carry the virus, you have yourselves vaccinated. Otherwise, I will order all the barangay captains to have a tally of the people who refuse to be vaccinated," Duterte stressed.

Malacanang admitted on Tuesday that Duterte's order to arrest individuals who refused COVID-19 vaccination could not be enforced without a law requiring the mandatory inoculation and providing penalties thereof.

But in a virtual press conference Tuesday, Presidential Spokesperson Harry Roque said: ''So we need either an ordinance or a law that will impose penalty for those who will refuse vaccination. So, what the President said yesterday, well, if there's a need to make (vaccination) mandatory, there is really a legal basis for that but there is a need for an ordinance or law," he said.

Duterte said he was just "exasperated" because of some Filipinos who were not heeding the government's call for vaccination.

He said the barangay captains should look for the "40 percent" Filipinos who were not willing to avail of the vaccination program.

"I'll task the DILG (Department of Interior and Local Government) to do that, to look for these persons...if not, I will order their arrest," Duterte said.

"Why? Because if you are a - I say, a person who is not vaccinated, you are a carrier of - a potential carrier - and to protect the people, I have to sequester you in jail. You choose: you have yourselves vaccinated or I will send you to jail?" he said.

Some Filipinos have remained hesitant to have themselves vaccinated while others have been waiting for western vaccine brands. Currently, the Philippines is highly dependent on Chinese Sinovac vaccines. DMS