Aga Muhlach, Family Under A3 Group – Muntinlupa

UPDATED: Actor Aga Muhlach and his family are all suffering from medical issues, making them qualified to get a COVID-19 vaccine, an official of Muntinlupa City explained on Thursday, June 3.

Muhlach, his wife Charlene and their children – twins Atasha and Andres, 19 – belong to the A3 priority group or persons with comorbidities in the government’s COVID vaccine priority list, according to Tez Navarro, public information office chief of the city government. She did not specify the comorbidities.

As residents of the city, the Muhlachs signed up for the local government’s COVID-19 vaccination program, and received a text message confirming their inoculation schedule three weeks after, Navarro said.

The Muhlachs received their first doses of COVID-19 vaccine at the parking lot of the Festival Supermall last Tuesday, June 1.

Like other potential vaccinees, Muhlach’s family also lined up to undergo the vaccination process from registration to post-vaccination monitoring, Navarro stated.

She said she witnessed how they followed the process, and maintained no special treatment was given to them.

Navarro stressed their inoculation should not be an issue as some residents of upscale Barangay Ayala Alabang – among them celebrities, politicians, big businessmen and influential people – have also received their jabs.

“We are inclusive in Muntinlupa – rich, poor, politicians, stars, et cetera. The vaccination program is for all who register, we encourage all to go,” she said.

The city health office has gotten in touch with the Department of the Interior and Local Government (DILG).

Interior Secretary Eduardo Año previously said the agency would find out if the city government violated any rule on COVID-19 vaccination. 

On Friday, June 4, theDepartment of Interior and Local Government (DILG) declared there was no violation of protocols in the vaccination of Muhlach and his family in Muntinlupa.

DILG spokesperson Undersecretary Jonathan Malaya said Muhlach and his family were qualified to be vaccinated under the protocols set by the Department of Health (DOH).

“Documents regarding their vaccination were also submitted to the DILG. Therefore, the department sees no violation of DOH or IATF regulations in the aforementioned vaccination,” Malaya said in a statement, referring to the Inter-Agency Task Force for the Management of Emerging Infectious Diseases.

He noted that the Muhlachs are bona fide residents of the city and were enrolled in the city’s MUNCOVAC registration portal under the A3 category, or people with comorbidities.

Malaya said the Muhlachs were able to submit medical certificates from attending physicians that proved they had comorbidities.

“The medical certificate was verified by the Muntinlupa City Health Office with the hospital,” he said.

 On her Instagram account, Charlene posted a photo after her vaccination with the caption: “First shot done of (AstraZeneca). Thank you MunCoVac & Muntinlupa City for the seamless and easy vaccination process. Encouraging everyone to get vaccinated towards achieving herd immunity…Let’s protect our loved ones by getting vaccinated.”

It was not clear if her husband and children were given the same brand of vaccine. Gonzalez encouraged people to register for vaccination in their respective localities.

Read more: Aga, Family Receive Jabs in Muntinlupa; DILG Asks Why

In March, actor Mark Anthony Fernandez and the Parañaque City government drew flak after he was inoculated with the AstraZeneca vaccine. The city government said Fernandez was hypertensive, making him qualified for a slot for the vaccine under the A3 group.

President Duterte, the Department of Health and the DILG warned those jumping the vaccination line, including mayors and others with command responsibility, that they could be vaccinated for going ahead of those in the COVID-19 priority list.

But the President defended the Presidential Security Group for having some of its members inoculated last year with smuggled COVID-19 vaccines.

The government has also implemented a “brand agnostic policy” to prevent people from flocking to areas where their preferred vaccines are administered. Based on a Social Weather Station (SWS) survey conducted on April 28 to May 2, majority of the Filipinos want the jabs made in the United States.

The same survey indicated that only 32 percent of Filipinos were willing to avail of COVID-19 vaccines.

Officials said the non-disclosure of vaccine brands could speed up the inoculation program while they also address the problem of people’s hesitation to get the COVID-19 shots.

On May 27, presidential spokesman Harry Roque said the government is preparing a new commercial that will feature Duterte as part of its effort to persuade the public to get vaccinated against COVID-19.

Roque claimed Vice President Leni Robredo had "volunteered" to do the commercial with the President despite being a vocal critic of the administration.

Robredo's spokesman Barry Gutierrez has clarified that the Vice President merely agreed with the proposal of Sen. Joel Villanueva to come up with an infomercial featuring her and the President so that more people would get themselves inoculated.