September 10, 2022- CHED’s PinasLakas Ceremonial Booster Program at the Bacolod City College (BCC) and University of Negros Occidental-Recoletos (UNO-R)

Present in the two-part program is CHED Chairman Hon. J. Prospero E. De Vera III, together with CHED Commissioner Mark Libre.

Atty. Bong Dilag, the spokesperson of Hon. Mayor Albee Benitez and CHED Regional Director, Dr. Raul Alvarez, Jr. were also present in the program.

BCC, together with the different State University Colleges (SUCs) and Local Colleges in Bacolod City and Negros Occidental were the participants in the first part of the vaccination program.

Five student volunteers from the SUCs were the first official vaccinees of the Ceremonial Booster Vaccination Program.

The second part of the said event was held at UNO-R Gym, wherein heads of the university namely, Fr. Joel Alve, OAR and President of UNO-R, Fr. Amadeo Lucero, OAR, Fr. Jose Alden Alipin, OAR, Fr. Samuel Eyas, OAR, and Angelita Florita were the volunteers for the Ceremonial Booster Vaccination.

Vaccinators of the program were doctors and nurses from the Bacolod City Health Office (BCHO) and Department of Health (DOH).

Throughout the event, De Vera’s message was all about his gratitude to have met the students and institutions’ faculty face to face and commending the efforts of the LGUs and frontliners with regards to vaccination.

A press conference followed after the ceremony where CHED Chairman De Vera III answered some questions from the media.

During the press conference, CHED Chairman De Vera mentioned that they allowed face-to-face classes in all universities and colleges despite the number of unvaccinated student attendees, since they have better control over the spread of the virus and that the percentage of unvaccinated students were smaller than last year.

De Vera III stated that there was no specific target in this booster program because the state universities and colleges know the importance and the protection that booster vaccines can offer.

Furthermore, he pointed out that getting booster shots and having strict implementations of health protocols and guidelines are the key elements that must be observed at all times to protect the unvaccinated individuals due to comorbidities or underlying health issues.

De Vera III added that this was the first Ceremonial Booster Vaccination he had attended.
(Source: Bacolod City Public Information Office)