Sen. Christopher “Bong” Go said Sunday he believes Health Secretary Francisco Duque III should take some time to explain to the public what really ensued after they failed to submit the Confidentiality Disclosure Agreement (CDA) that eventually bungled the government’s COVID-19 vaccine deal with Pfizer.
(OFFICE OF SEN. BONG GO / FILE PHOTO / MANILA BULLETIN)
Go, head of the Senate Committee on Health and Demography, said that while he understands Duque’s predicament on the issue, it is best for the Department of Health (DoH) chief to publicly explain his side on the issue to allay the public’s concerns regarding the availability of COVID vaccines in the Philippines.
Duque, he said, has already explained to President Duterte his reasons why he wasn’t able to sign the deal last September.
“Sabi niya kung itong vaccine, kung piprimahan niya agad, during that time September, hindi pa po siguardo, eh mas mahirap naman po na pirmahan agad. In-explain niya po sa Pangulo (He said it would be difficult if he signed it during that time, September, and it is not yet sure. It would be hard to sign the deal early, he explained that to the President),” Go said in an interview over radio DZBB.
“In fact, namumula na po sa galit si Secretary Duque that time, kasi sabi niya parang siya lagi ang nasisisi. Ginagawa na nga niya ang lahat, siya pa raw ang sinisisi ng lahat at instead of helping each other, siya pa ang natuturo (In fact, Duque was already angry because he is always being blamed. He is doing all he can but he is blamed and instead of helping each other, he gets to be blamed),” the senator pointed out.
“Ako naman po kay Secretary Duque, ipaintindi niya sa tao what transpired during that time na nangyari at explain niya po ano ang katotohanan (If I were Secretary Duque, I will explain to the people what transpired during that time it happened and explain to them truthfully what happened),” he stressed.
As for Foreign Affairs Secretary Teodoro Locsin Jr., Go said he hopes that the country’s top diplomat would just focus on helping the government acquire “safe and effective vaccine.”
“Narinig ko kay Pangulogn Duterte, sinabi niya po only one person ang mamamahala sa vaccine at ito po ay si Secretary Galvez. Isa lang ang authorized, kaya siya tinatawag na vaccine czar (I heard from the President that only one person would oversee the procurement for vaccine and this is Secretary Carlito Galvez. Only one is authorized, that is why he was assigned as the vaccine czar),” Go explained.
The former presidential aide expressed hope that Cabinet officials will set aside their differences and just help the government in the acquisition of COVID-19 vaccines so that all Filipinos can return to living normal lives.