MANILA (UCAN): The Religious of the Virgin Mary (RVM) sisters agreed to allow the campus of the University of the Immaculate Conception (UIC) in Davao City, Davao province, the Philippines, to be the focal point of the government’s Covid-19 coronavirus (SARS-CoV-2) vaccine drive in the south of the country. It will be the largest vaccination site in the Mindanao region.
The RVM sisters are the largest female congregation in the Philippines and run 58 schools and universities.
“We are most willing to help in the government’s vaccine program by allowing vaccine activities within our campus,” university president Sister Marissa Viri told reporters.
The decision was made easier because face-to-face classes have been suspended for almost a year across the entire country.
“At least we can do something to help our country combat coronavirus while classes are online. We want to maximise the use of our facilities here to help those in need”
Sister Marissa Viri
“At least we can do something to help our country combat coronavirus while classes are online. We want to maximise the use of our facilities here to help those in need,” Sister Viri added.
Archbishop Romullo Valles, president of the Catholic Bishops’ Conference of the Philippines, thanked the sisters for their commitment to fellow Filipinos.
“Thank you, sisters, for opening your university to this effort. Now we can say to our government leaders that a Catholic school in the region is the most willing to help in the vaccination campaign,” Archbishop Valles said in a radio interview.
He said the bishops have offered various Church facilities, such as schools, as accommodation to help health workers and the homeless during the pandemic.
“We would repeat the same call this time for vaccination sites,” he said. “We need gospel-inspired actions not only from priests or bishops but from institutions such as schools. We need to be reminded of goodness and the need to care for each other. Each of us can share in this collective effort to combat and end this pandemic,” Archbishop Valles said.
