By Dominique Gabriel G. Bañaga

Escalante City is the first local government unit (LGU) in Negros Occidental to offer incentive to individuals who are willing to get vaccinated against COVID-19.

Mayor Melecio “Beboy” Yap, in a social media post, said senior citizens who will get vaccinated against COVID-19 will receive three kilos of rice and one can of a premium-brand corned beef.

Yap said senior citizens who have gotten the vaccine can coordinate with their barangay captains in order to be placed on the list of those who will receive the incentive.

The mayor has also urged senior citizens to get the vaccine now, pointing out they won’t be able to start inoculating those under the A4 (frontline economic workers) category if they cannot inoculate at least 40 percent of the total senior citizen population of the city.

Earlier in June, the town of Don Salvador Benedicto also eyed giving out incentives such as holding raffle draws for the town’s residents who will get vaccinated against COVID-19.

Don Salvador Benedicto Mayor Marxlen Dela Cruz said holding a raffle draw will further encourage the town’s residents to get the vaccine, adding that it would be difficult to achieve their target of vaccinating at least 70 percent of the town’s population because getting the vaccine remains voluntary.

Meanwhile, Governor Eugenio Jose Lacson had already bucked a proposal to introduce incentives for individuals who have already been fully vaccinated against COVID-19, however, he did introduce an executive order allowing fully-vaccinated individuals to enter the province./DGB, WDJ