Senators on Monday asserted that the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) should allow the private sector and local government units (LGUs) to procure COVID-19 vaccines directly from vaccine manufacturers.
This would help the government in its efforts to combat the pandemic and restore economic activity faster.
Senate President Vicente Sotto III, Senate President Pro Tempore Ralph Recto and Senate Minority Leader Franklin Drilon said it is imperative that the FDA consider this and remove from the government the monopoly of purchasing the COVID-19 vaccines.
“Bakit ang national government gusto i-monopolize ang pag-purchase (Why does the national government want to monopolize the purchase? Bakit di na lang payagan yung (Why not allow the) LGUs at private sector to do their own purchases?” Recto said during the Senate Committee of the Whole’s inquiry into the status of the government’s COVID-19 vaccination program.
“I understand that the COVAX facility would be cheaper, but if this is a whole-of-nation approach, payagan na rin yung private sector. Kung willing sila magbayad ng mas mahal, na iba ang presyo sa COVAX facility—yan yung national government—tapos pribado, (f they are willing to pay a higher price, different from the price offered by the COVAX facility—which will be done by the national government—then the private (sector), they can have their own importation or the LGUs for that matter,” he said.
“Bakit di na lang payagan ng FDA yan or ng national government? (Why can’t the FDA or national government allow it?)” Recto further pointed out.
Drilon agreed with Recto saying he cannot understand why the government would authorize the use of about 70 million Filipinos using the COVID-19 vaccines to be procured by the state through an emergency use authorization (EUA) with FDA and yet refuse to apply the same process to the private sector and the LGUs.
“The premise…is that at least the EUA is a prima facie certification that the vaccine is safe and effective. In fact, it is because of that EUA that we would authorize the use of about 70 million Filipinos because there is prima facie finding that it is safe and effective. Why can’t this prima facie finding to be made to apply to the private sector and the LGUs and allow them to acquire these vaccines also in the same basis of a EUA so that the national government can be assisted in acquiring these vaccines and make it available to our people,” Drilon pointed out.
“The issue here is why is it that the national government would want to impose this rule of an EUA that would give birth to a monopoly, which is not good as a matter of policy,” the minority leader stressed.
FDA director general Rolando Enrique Domingo, however, said it is important that the procurement of the vaccines must go through the national government because the products would only be issued with EUA for local distribution in the Philippines.
“It takes about seven years to procure a vaccine and they can only apply for a certificate of product registration or marketing authorization once that these three trials are completed,” Domingo explained.
Domingo further said that vaccine manufacturers would not take responsibility for their products, while the national government will take responsibility for using a product that is still under development.
“Naniniwala naman po kami na kailangan naman po talaga ng LGUs at ng private sector (ng mga vaccines) kaya nga po ginawan natin ng paraan para sila maka-access sa through DOH (Department of Health),” Domingo said.
“Kasi yung mga kumpanya po talagang malalaki ay hindi po talaga magbebenta sa mga LGU at mga private company. Kasi yun pong kanilang produkto under development pa at hindi pa sila ready na i-market ito, ” he reiterated.
But senators pointed out that some LGUs have already procured COVID-19 vaccines for their respective constituents due to the government’s slow procurement process.
Sotto and Sen. Risa Hontiveros cited the case of the Makati City Government which has already secured 1 million doses of vaccines from AstraZeneca for its citizens.
Sen. Cynthia Villar agreed with Drilon and Recto’s position saying the government should not wait for the country’s economy to collapse before allowing the LGUs and the private sector to acquire COVID-19 vaccines based on their own efforts.
“Kasi kung iintayin pa natin yung third quarter… paano yung first and second quarter ng (Because if we’re going to wait for the third quarter, what happens to the Philippines during our first and second quarter) Pilipinas in terms of economic activity and employment? Patay na tayo,” Villar said.