SENATOR JOEL Villanueva has sought the inclusion of workers in the media sector to be included in the government’s list of priority recipients of the COVID-19 vaccine, citing their indispensable work of providing “timely and truthful information” in the midst of the pandemic.
Villanueva, chair of the Senate labor committee, was commenting on the government’s priority list of essential workers who comprise the A4 cluster which was made public on Monday.
“Press freedom and timely access to truthful information are a must in times of pandemic. Media should be included in the A4 list,” Villanueva said. “Ang media workers po natin ay ang ating information frontliners. Bukod sa peligroso ang kanilang trabaho, napakahalaga po ng kanilang ambag na kaalaman at impormasyon laban sa pandemya.”
Villanueva cited the dangers faced by media workers who need to move around to gather news and essential information for the public’s consumption. He pointed out that aside from field reporters, newsrooms are staffed by various individuals such as photographers and videographers, editors, production crew, among others, to provide content to various platforms such as television, radio, print, and online.
Given their role in society as “information frontliners,” Villanueva urged authorities to include media workers in their A4 priority list, which clusters workers categorized as essential.
The A4 cluster is composed of economic sectors that have high levels of interaction with or exposure to the public, or are needed to ensure security, consumer and worker safety, and those working in priority government projects.
Here is the list of sectors part of the A4 priority group:
A4.1 – Commuter transport (land, air and sea), including logistics
A4.2 – Frontline government workers in justice, security, transport social protection sectors
A4.3 – Public and private wet and dry market ventdors; frontline workers in grocery, supermarkets; delivery services
A4.4 – Workers in manufacturing for food, beverage, medical and pharmaceutical products
A4.5 – Frontline workers in food retail, including food service delivery
A4.6 – Frontline government workers
A4.7 – Frontline workers in financial services
A4.8 – Teaching and related personnel in medical and allied medical courses of higher education institutions, including personnel handling laboratories
A4.9 – Frontline workers in hotels and accommodation
A4.10 – Priests, pastors, religious leaders regardless of denomination
A4.11 – Construction workers in government infrastructure projects
A4.12 – Security guards or personnel assigned in the establishments, offices, agencies, and organizations identified in these priority sectors
A4.13 – Overseas Filipino workers not classified above, and scheduled for deployment within two months.
Villanueva has been in the forefront of pushing for the inclusion of essential workers in the vaccine priority list. In January, he pressed on the leadership of the IATF at the Senate Committee of the Whole hearing to prioritize essential workers into the government’s vaccination program.
Aside from media workers, Villanueva said the priority list must include vendors in public and private markets, staff in groceries and places where essential goods are sold, drivers of public utility vehicles, delivery riders, security guards, sanitation personnel like garbage collectors, workers in electricity, water, and telecommunication services, and construction workers in public and private projects among others.
“While most of our suggestions have been adopted, we continue to press our authorities to take a second glance at their initial list. Umaasa po tayo na pakikinggan ng ating mga kasamahan sa gobyerno, at tiwala tayong mauunawaan nila ang ating isinusulong,” Villanueva said.