Those who do not want to be vaccinated due to their religious or political conviction are questioning the propriety of President Rodrigo Duterte’s pronouncement that he may coerce them to be vaccinated by virtue of the police power of the State.
They insist that under the Constitution, the exercise of the freedom of religion and the freedom of choice fundamentally make them immune from any State-sponsored policy that will require mandatory vaccination. Are they correct? Not so.
The primary goal of every government is outlined under Section 4 of Article 2 of the 1987 Constitution which provides: “The prime duty of the government is to serve and protect the people. The government may call upon the people to defend the State and, in the fulfillment thereof, all citizens may be required, under conditions provided by law, to render personal, military, or civil service.”
As mentioned by the aforequoted provision of law, the government, in protecting the people, may require them to render civil service. The question begging to be answered is: Does mandatory vaccination fall under the ambit of civil service?”
Civil service is not an abstract word. It does not refer to mere acts that are equivalent to public service. Neither does the term refer to an office. Instead, it connotes activities, required or not required, that redound to the benefit of the general welfare.
By general welfare is meant the majority of all the people – benefits conferred to persons in their capacity as a community and not merely as individuals. The promotion or protection of health, safety and order is one.
Clearly, therefore, when the President threatened to have all Filipinos, freely or otherwise, be vaccinated under the pain of punishment, he was well within his authority. He was making a sensible decision.
Ironically, there is yet to be a test case involving a situation where an individual who refused to be vaccinated shall be forced to do so, failing in which he/she is charged in court. Should there be one, it will make for an interesting case that will enrich our jurisprudence. But for the meantime, there are analogous cases wherein a citizen was compelled to render military or civil service despite staunch legal objection.
A classic example would be Muhammad Ali, the famed boxer who was drafted by his government to be a soldier. He was commanded to go on a mandatory tour of duty in Vietnam. He refused because war was against his religion.
He did not want to shoot the “Vietcongs” and the “Little Charlies” because he had no quarrel with them. He invoked his right to freedom of religion and freedom of choice. The U.S. Supreme Court said mandatory military service is a right that is superior to the freedom of religion. That the primary duty of the government to preserve the State clothes it with the power to require its subjects to render military or civil service.
Well, it is the same with respect to health issues. When the safety of the country and the survival of its people are being threatened by a raging disease that has the capacity to wipe out the population if it remains untreated, the government, much like in times of war, may coerce all its citizens to render some civil service for the benefit of all. Mandatory injection against the Covid virus is a civil service that may be required.
One might argue that forcing somebody to do something against his will is transgressing the freedom of choice guaranteed by the Philippine Constitution. The freedom of choice guaranteed under the Constitution is not absolute. It entails some exceptions, among which is when it runs counter to the safety, health and welfare of others.
The option not to be vaccinated affects others because those who remain unvaccinated pose a greater threat to the survival of mankind than those who are vaccinated. This is where police power comes into play.
Police power is the authority of the government to interfere with or regulate private rights and interests for the betterment of the vast majority of the people.
Mandatory vaccination is needed for the betterment of our lives as Filipinos.
May 17, 2024
