By Dominique Gabriel G. Bañaga

Negros Occidental Governor Eugenio Jose Lacson yesterday said he is not yet keen on implementing a “no vaccine, no entry” policy at the provincial capitol building in Bacolod City, even as other local government units (LGUs) in Western Visayas are already implementing such policy.

“We haven’t decided if we will disallow the public to enter the capitol premises if they are not vaccinated,” Lacson said.

He said they are currently still discussing if they need to implement mandatory vaccination policy among all employees of the provincial government.

The governor also previously stated that they are determining as to how many of their employees remain unvaccinated, although he commented yesterday that the number may be less already.

Last month, some LGUs in Negros Occidental such as the cities of Cadiz and Bago announced that they are requiring all of their city government employees and consultants to get vaccinated, otherwise they will not be allowed to enter city government-owned buildings and offices.

In Cadiz City, any city government employee who remains unvaccinated is required to submit a negative RT-PCR or negative rapid antigen test result every week at the employee’s own expense.

Any employee who fails to submit their RT-PCR or rapid antigen test result will be marked as absent until he or she is able to submit the requirement, while consultants who fail to submit will not be able to receive their honoraria./DGB, WDJ