Whether rich or poor, all local government units will receive from the national government COVID-19 vaccines that will cover 70 percent of their population, with the more affluent getting the advantage of inoculating 100 percent of local population.
Thus, vaccine czar Carlito Galvez stressed that LGUs, mostly in Metro Manila, that have money to spare to purchase vaccines for their constituents will have a bigger chance of inoculating a larger part of their population.
Nearly all LGUs in Metro Manila, led by the cities of Quezon, Makati, Manila, Navotas, Pasig and Caloocan, are ready to spend to purchase vaccines that would add to their 70 percent share from the national government.
These LGUs have entered into tripartite procurement agreements whereby the national government would stand as the middleman in vaccine procurement with pharmaceutical firms such as Astra-Zeneca.
“The arrangement is that in case they (LGUs) opted to buy the vaccine, we will take care of the supplies and how to administer these,” Galvez told the House Committee on Health during the briefing on the national vaccination roadmap.
Also the chief implementer of the government’s anti- COVID 19 action plan, Galvez said many LGUs have decided to use their own budget to increase the number of their constituents who will be protected from the dreaded coronavirus disease.
“They want to augment their supply because they want to immediately revive their economy and ensure better protection for their people,’ he said.
Also during the hearing, Marinduque Governor and League of Provinces of the Philippines president Presbitero Velasco assured Galvez that the country’s provinces and LGUs are in full support of the national government’s vaccination program.
However, Velasco sought an assurance from Galvez that the LGUs that were able to procure their own supply will still be allowed to access the state-procured vaccine supply.
Velasco, father of Speaker Lord Allan Velasco, also stressed that LGUs want an assurance from the government that they will be allowed to procure directly vaccines from their respective supliers.
“Of course it has to pass through the national government, but we want clear authority to negotiate directly with the suppliers,” said Velasco, a retired Supreme Court associate justice.
Earlier, Deputy Speaker and Cagayan de Oro City Rep. Rufus Rodriguez filed House Resolution No. 1460 calling on the national government to grant LGUs the authority to directly procure their vaccines from manufacturers.
“Coordinated proper vaccination programs by the LGUs will significantly aid the government in its pursuit to fight the COVID-19 pandemic and its effects, especially regaining some semblance of normalcy with businesses bouncing back and ultimately placing the economy well on its way back to recovery,” said Rodriguez.