Secretary Carlito Galvez Jr., chief implementer of the National Task Force (NTF) Against COVID-19, refuted Saturday speculations that some officials may be looking for kickbacks from the national government's deals with various companies to secure a COVID-19 vaccine.
Sen. Francis Pangilinan has raised suspicion that the alleged botched deal between the government and United States vaccine maker Pfizer may be an issue of "kickvak."
"Hindi po puwede magkaroon ng 'kickvac' dahil ang pondong gagamitin ay galing sa Asian Development Bank (ADB) at World Bank (WB), wala po sa Cabinet members at wala po sa government officials except sa Secretary of Finance (Carlos Dominguez III)," Galvez, who is also the designated vaccine czar, said in a "Laging Handa" press briefing.
Foreign Affairs Secretary Teodoro Locsin Jr. had earlier revealed that "somebody dropped the ball" in the national government's negotiations with Pfizer for the supply of 10 million doses of its vaccine by January, an opportunity that went to Singapore instead.
Although Locsin did not mention names, Sen. Panfilo Lacson later said that Health Secretary Francisco Duque III failed to submit on time a confidentiality disclosure agreement (CDA) requirement by Pfizer which would have enabled the deal to push through.
Galvez explained that no government official can access the fund for the COVID-19 vaccine procurement since the government's main mode of procurement in acquiring the vaccines has been through multilateral arrangements with the Asian Development Bank, World Bank, and other global financing agencies.
"We would also like to emphasize that no government official has access to the funds for vaccine procurement. All deals will be made through international procurement agreements and all payments for the vaccines will be managed by our multilateral partners with the Department of Finance on the lead," he said.
Process
According to Galvez, the government's fund managers – such as the ADB and WB – have laid out "very stringent regulatory requirements and processes" that they need to follow before they can get the fund for the procurement of a vaccine.
This includes securing a World Health Organization (WHO) accreditation of the vaccine before it is bought, and a "stringent regulatory authorization" which is also being required in other countries like the United States, United Kingdom, Canada, or Singapore.
Meanwhile, the Department of Health leads the government's preparation for the Agency Procurement Request (APR), another requirement for the acquisition of a vaccine.
As the designated vaccine czar, Galvez said his primary role is focused on "negotiating directly with the vaccine companies to make sure we get the best deal possible in terms of cost, volume, time of delivery, and supply agreement."
"After the draft contract is agreed upon by parties, it will be submitted to the Department of Finance, which will scrutinize and ensure the provisions in the document are in accordance with the FDA (Food and Drug Administration) and multilateral regulatory requirements," he said.
Once cleared, Galvez said the contract will be forwarded to the government's multilateral partners or fund managers for further review and validation to ensure the integrity of the contract prior to the release of the funds.
He also clarified that payments for the procurement of a vaccine will only be done once all the regulatory requirements for Emergency Use Authorization (EUA) from FDA and the originating country are secured.
"Our negotiation is always being guided by the Department of Finance in allocating P73 billion to P75 billion for the inoculation of 60 to 80 million Filipinos which will allow the country to achieve the WHO’s standard for herd immunity," he said.
Galvez vouched for the integrity of Dominguez as the lead official in the financial aspect of the government's vaccine procurements.
"Alam po natin ang integrity ng SoF (Secretary of Finance) talagang nandiyan. 'Yung mga kontratang hindi maganda, naaayos niya (We know the integrity of the SoF, it's there. All the contracts that were not that good, he can fix it)," he said.
'No preference to China'
The vaccine czar addressed claims that the missed opportunity with Pfizer may have been intentionally committed in favor of other vaccine manufacturers from a different country, particularly with China's Sinovac vaccine.
Galvez said the evaluation of all the vaccine candidates is the responsibility of the country's Vaccine Expert Panel (VEP) and no government official has the power to influence them.
"Gumawa po sila ng listahan at 17 po ang ine-evaluate nila. Shinorten natin sa siyam. Puspusan ang negotiation at isa dito ang China (They made a list and 17 vaccine candidates were included in their evaluation. It was shortlisted to nine. The negotiations were rigorous and among these candidate vaccines came from China)," he said.
Galvez noted that China has already issued an emergency use authorization for Sinovac since July 2020, enabling it to hurdle the initial review of the VEP. He said more than one million Chinese have already been vaccinated with Sinovac.
Considering these things, Galvez said he, as the vaccine czar, and the VEP decided to include Sinovac as among the priorities of the government in its negotiations for its vaccine procurement.
"Hindi namin ihuhulog ang itlog sa isang basket dahil kailangan may portfolio. Sa bawat bansa na may gumagawa ng vaccine ay kukuha tayo ng isa o dalawa (We will not put all our eggs into one basket because we need (vaccine makers) with a portfolio. In every country with a vaccine manufacturer, we will get one or two from them)," he said.
But corruption claims are hounding the Chinese vaccine manufacturer after it was revealed that Sinovac was accused of bribing the Chinese government in exchange of the issuance of an emergency use authorization (EUA) from 2002 to 2011, according to the Washington Post, a US newspaper.
Galvez had earlier vowed to look into the bribery claims against Sinovac.
Aside from Sinovac, Galvez said they are also making negotiations with China's Sinopharm and CanSino vaccines, US' Moderna and Pfizer, Russia's Gamaleya Sputnik, and India's vaccine which is being developed by the Serum Institute of India (SII) through the development firm Novavax.
"We are now in the advanced stages of negotiations with various vaccine manufacturers. While our vaccine expert panel and the Food and Drug Administration continuously assess the safety and efficacy of each of the candidate vaccines, we are also trying to get the best price possible to ensure cost-efficiency and equitable access for the poor," he said.
"We are eyeing to strike a deal with vaccine manufacturers by the end of this year or early January 2021. We are confident that given the timeline of production, initial deliveries will be made by March of next year and the inoculation program may commence within that period."
"The delivery of all vaccines regardless of their country of origin and manufacturer will be made in tranches or on a staggered basis, which is the same mode of delivery for developed countries such as the United States, United Kingdom, and Canada," Galvez said.