President Rodrigo Duterte announced that local officials, known as barangay captains, would be enforcing stay-at-home orders among unvaccinated residents during a government briefing held in Manila on Friday.

"I am now giving orders to the barangay captain[s] (local officials) to look for those persons who are not vaccinated and request them or order them, if you may, to stay put, and if he refuses, he goes out of the house and around in the community or maybe wherever magpunta (he goes to), he can be restrained,” explained Duterte.

“And if he refuses, then the barangay captain, being a person of authority, is empowered now to arrest the recalcitrant person,” warned Duterte.

The President also said that local officials would be able to enlist civilians in the enforcement of the measures.

COVID-19 cases have surged in the Philippines over the past week, with data compiled on Thursday by the World Health Organization reporting a total of 32,000 new cases reported between December 30 and January 6, with more than 10,000 cases being reported on Thursday alone.

Over 61 percent of the population has received at least one dose of a COVID-19 vaccine.

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