Vaccine procurement
MANILA, Philippines — Local government units (LGUs) should coordinate with the national government before procuring vaccines against coronavirus disease-2019 for their constituents, according to Interior Secretary Eduardo Año.
“The President has approved a tripartite approach in LGU procurement. We will follow this system to ensure that all involved parties are on the same page,” Año said.
He said the proper procedure should be followed to ensure standardized pricing and avoid duplication of efforts.
Año said LGUs should coordinate with National Task Force on COVID-19 chief implementer and vaccine czar Carlito Galvez as well as the Department of Health (DOH).
He said the role of the DOH is vital to ensure that any side effect of the vaccine is documented and that the inoculation follows safety protocols.
”Ang mag-aangkat ng COVID-19 vaccines ay national government pa rin para ma momonitor pa din ng DOH. Mag-li-lead pa din ang DOH sa lahat ng ginagawang acquisition... kasi karamihan sa makukuhang bakuna ay hindi lamang isa ang kailangan,” Año said.
The government will purchase 184 million doses from several manufacturers.
LGUs were asked to prepare a vaccination plan down to the barangay level and establish incident command structures with a dedicated unit for inoculation.
Año said local health offices should determine the sectors to be given priority, the vaccine requirements, implementing units and needed human resources.
Low-income LGUs
The League of Provinces of the Philippines (LPP) said the government should prioritize low-income LGUs.
”Kailangan po ang national government ang magbigay ng priority sa mga third, fourth and fifth class municipalities,” LPP president Marinduque Gov. Presbitero Velasco Jr. said.
Velasco said they are gathering data regarding municipalities and provinces that need assistance. He said they would submit their findings to the COVID-19 task force.
He said the LPP is also eyeing LGU-to-LGU arrangements to help low-income municipalities and ensure equitable distribution of the vaccines.
Government to borrow less
Malacañang said it welcomes the move of LGUs to allocate funds to buy COVID vaccines.
Presidential spokesman Harry Roque Jr. said this means the government would borrow less for the vaccination program.
“Why would we refuse the funds allocated for vaccines when the plan is to borrow money to buy vaccines? Of course, money talks. If LGUs have funds and they allocated it for vaccines, why would the national government reject it?” Roque told a press briefing.
”We are happy that LGUs allocated funds to buy vaccines,” he said.
However, Roque clarified that the geographical priorities set by the national COVID task force would be followed.
Under the plan, areas where a high number of confirmed cases were recorded, such as Metro Manila, Calabarzon, Central Luzon, Cebu, Davao and Cagayan de Oro, would be given priority in a bid to promote economic activity.
The government said it would borrow P73.2 billion to purchase vaccines for 60 million Filipinos.
About P40 billion will come from the Asian Development Bank and World Bank while P20 billion will come from domestic sources, such as the Land Bank of the Philippines, Development Bank of the Philippines and government-owned or controlled corporations.
About P13.2 billion will come from bilateral sources. – Alexis Romero