The Department of Health (DoH) should put a number on the funds needed for the purchase of a COVID-19 vaccine and include it in its budget proposal for next year, Cagayan de Oro City Rep. Rufus Rodriguez said Thursday.
He noted that the Executive branch would soon submit to the House of Representatives the National Expenditure Program (NEP) for 2021, which would serve as the basis for the 2021 General Appropriations Act (GAA) or national budget.
“Speaker Alan Peter Cayetano has already declared that the House of Representatives is prepared to appropriate funds for the vaccine. I am suggesting that the DoH already incorporate in its budget proposal its estimated funding requirement for the doses the country needs to protect our people from coronavirus,” he said.
The Mindanaoan said it is the DoH and not Congress or any other agency that has the expertise to come up with estimates based on its institutional knowledge on the cost of previous vaccines and its access to manufacturers.
“We will have to rely on them especially considering that the COVID-19 vaccine is yet to be found, though several countries and pharmaceutical companies are racing to develop it,” he said.
Rodriguez said the administration has a constitutional deadline of one month from July 27 – the day of President Duterte's State-of-the-Nation Address – to submit to Congress its proposed budget for 2021.
"There’s still time for the DoH and the Department of Budget and Management (DBM) to make adjustments to accommodate appropriations for COVID-19 vaccines. If the DoH needs more time after the budget proposal is submitted, they should tell us. We can wait for their estimates and we can introduce the needed adjustments while the House is considering the spending measure," he noted.
Cayetano had previously said that he prefers that funds be already appropriated in case a vaccine for the coronavirus disease-2019 is developed and available in the market.
“What if there is a vaccine and they won’t supply unless you pay at once? So the funds should already be available in the budget,” he said.