The Regional Inter-Agency Task Force against coronavirus disease 2019 (Covid-19) in Soccsksargen (RIATF-12) has dispatched teams to monitor the conduct of the three-day national vaccination drive in the area.
Arthur Condes, information and communication technology unit chief of the Department of the Interior and Local Government (DILG)-Region 12, said on Monday the move was aimed to ensure the smooth rollout and encourage more residents to take part in the mass vaccination campaign.
On Monday morning, he said the teams held coordination activities with concerned local government units (LGUs) and staged caravans to drum up more public support and participation.
“The monitoring is focused on localities that have low vaccination turnout,” he said in a radio interview.
Condes said the teams were composed of officials and personnel of various regional line agencies and offices in Soccsksargen.
The move, which is spearheaded by the RIATF, is supported by the Regional Development Council and the LGUs in the region.
He said various agencies were assigned to monitor selected areas in Sarangani, North Cotabato, Sultan Kudarat, and this city.
The DILG-12 was assigned in Pikit, North Cotabato along with the Department of Public Works and Highways, National Economic and Development Authority, and the Philippine Information Agency.
Condes said they helped the LGU gather prospective recipients and gave feedback regarding the vaccination rollout in its barangays.
He said it is aimed to improve the conduct of the vaccination activities and help meet the region’s target.
In Pikit, he said they notified the municipal government of the low turnout on Monday morning, and concerned officials vowed to “respond accordingly.”
President Rodrigo Duterte declared Nov. 29 to Dec. 1 as the “Bayanihan, Bakunahan National Covid-19 Vaccination Days” through Proclamation 1253 to ramp up inoculation coverage in the entire country.
The Department of Health and the LGUs are targeting to inoculate a total of 311,894 individuals per day or 935,688 in three days in the entire Region 12 and Cotabato City in the Bangsamoro Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao.
They aim to cover 296,544 persons in North Cotabato, 182,085 in South Cotabato, 162,924 in Sultan Kudarat, 134,484 in Sarangani, 105,267 in this city, and 54,377 in Cotabato City. (PNA)
