Vice President Leni Robredo called on her fellow government officials Sunday to focus on securing the coronavirus vaccine deal instead of bickerings, which she said adds to public fear over the vaccine safety.
(Photo by Charlie Villegas / OVP / FILE PHOTO / MANILA BULLETIN)
But she said she will not comment on the recent issue among Sen. Panfilo Lacson, Foreign Affairs Secretary Teodoro Locsin Jr., Philippine Ambassador to the US Jose Manual Romualdez, and Health Secretary Francisco Duque III.
“I do not like to blame anyone because I don’t know the whole story. There are many sides of the coin,” Robredo said during her weekly radio show, but added that she has heard Duque and Secretary Carlito Galvez, the country’s COVID-19 vaccine czar, denying that there was a failure to procure vaccines from Pfizer as early as January.
Locsin had earlier said that somebody “dropped the ball” on the negotiations with Pfizer that will supposedly deliver 10 million vaccines to the country by January. Lacson named Duque as the one who failed to secure the agreement.
Robredo lamented that the more people hear about the start of the inoculation of the vaccine in other countries like the United States and the United Kingdom, they fear that it may not take long to reach the Philippines.
Although the government has repeatedly said that vaccines will be available in March, some sectors and so-called studies are saying that the Philippines is farther down the list.
China-manufactured Sinovac is supposed to be available starting March.
“There is a lot of information coming in. But like what I always say, the government needs to have one voice because if there are different voices, that will add to the people’s fears,” Robredo said. “We need to exert effort to allay these fears and assure them (the people) that we will have access to the vaccines,” she added.
The Vice President noted the public fears around the security and efficacy of the Sinovac, and said that these concerns will affect the people’s perception of getting inoculated.
Robredo’s office has held briefings about the storage requirements of the vaccines, particularly the one by Pfizer which needs a -17 degrees Celsius deep-freezer storage.
The Philippines, she said, doesn’t have such a facility for still unknown reasons.
“It is better if we can clarify these issues. Who’s telling the truth? There are many concerns about the vaccines, so this controversy will not help gain public trust,” Robredo added.
Meanwhile, Robredo also said Sunday that trolls have acknowledged her as the rightful winner for vice president in the 2016 national elections through the hashtag #NasaanAngBisePresidente (#Where is the Vice President).
“First, they are acknowledging that I am the Vice President. They refer to me as the fake VP, so the hashtag ‘Nasaan Ang Bise Presidente’ (Where is the Vice President) with my picture on it shows that I am the Vice President they are looking for,” Robredo said during her weekly radio show.
The hashtag trended on social media amid the flashfloods in Mindanao from tropical depression “Vicky.” #NasaanAngBisePresidente was seemingly the trolls’ answer to the hashtag #NasaanAngPresidente that went viral during last month’s typhoons.
Robredo said she is ready to help victims of Vicky. “Andito po ako. Kanina pa kami nagco-coordinate sa areas na apektado (I’m here. We have been coordinating with the affected areas).”