MANILA— The Department of the Interior and Local Government (DILG) on Saturday said arresting those still unvaccinated against COVID-19 who insist to go out should only be used as a last resort.

This, as the department ordered local officials to restrict the mobility of individuals still without coronavirus shots "within the bounds of law," following President Rodrigo Duterte's order earlier this week.

In a statement, Interior Undersecretary Jonathan Malaya said the measure is meant to protect those still not immunized from the respiratory disease amid a spike in cases due to the omicron variant.

"They are prone to critical illness and hospitalization and we need to protect our health care system from being overwhelmed with the exponential rise of coronavirus cases because of the omicron variant,” Malaya said.

Duterte this week ordered barangay officials to "restrain" and "arrest" people unvaccinated against COVID-19 who continue to roam around.

Rights advocates earlier said the act is discriminatory, noting that some people do not have access to vaccination.

• CHR: Barring unvaccinated people from going out may cause 'undue discrimination'

The Commission on Human Rights (CHR) also said the government's immunization program is hounded by vaccine hesitancy driven by circulating misinformation.

It added that arresting unvaccinated people would go against the Constitution and "a human rights-based approach" should be taken.

"While the 1987 Constitution provides that liberty of movement can be restricted in the interest of national security, public safety, or public health, it still requires a law to make the said restriction legal," the commission said.

"Presently, there is no law that makes being unvaccinated a crime, nor is there any law that would satisfy the Constitutional provision on curtailing freedom of movement. Any arrest made on these grounds may be illegal; thus, violative of the Constitution and our guaranteed human rights."

But Interior Secretary Eduardo Año defended the President's directive and said he was "merely exercising his authority" amid a public health emergency.

"He was very clear in his directive that an arrest will only be a last resort. Pakiusapan muna na pumirmi sa bahay (We will first appeal to them to stay home). Barangay officials may only arrest the unvaccinated individual who refuse to cooperate and who are leaving the homes for non-essential purposes,” said Año.

So far, 7 cities in Metro Manila already released resolutions barring unvaccinated residents from going out of their homes except when buying essential goods.

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Earlier this week, mayors of the capital region also agreed to restrict the mobility of those unvaccinated and partially immunized individuals after it was placed under Alert Level 3 amid the rise in new cases.

"They will also be banned from indoor and al fresco dining, hotels, country clubs, leisure trips and similar establishments and public transportation," the statement read.

People who will violate the ordinances will be fined between P500 and P5,000 "with imprisonment of 7 days to 30 days."

Establishments found to have violated it would also be penalized with a fine of P3,000 to P5,000 and the suspension or possible revocation of their business permits "at the discretion of the court."

Interior officials said individuals should always bring their vaccination cards with them.

The Philippines failed to fully inoculate at least 54 million of its target last year.

As of this week, the government was able to fully immunize at least 51.6 million individuals, while over 57.4 million have received their first shot.

Nearly 3 million people, meanwhile, have received their booster shots.

The country is facing a fresh wave of new infections most likely driven by the omicron variant. On Friday, the Department of Health confirmed nearly 22,000 new cases — the highest in over 3 months.