The  office of Senator Juan Edgardo Angara on Monday said the prices of COVID-19 vaccines that are being attributed to his office were actually given by the Department of Health (DOH) two months ago when the Senate was holding hearings on the 2021 national budget.

Angara, who chairs the Senate Finance Committee, reiterated that the information on the various prices of vaccines, particularly that of China’s Sinovac Biotech, were provided by the DOH to his office and was meant as a guide for senators who were inquiring about details of the vaccines during the plenary debates last November 2020.
 
“Sen. Angara has neither claimed that he was the source of the data nor said anything about the accuracy of the said prices then and now,” Angara’s office said in a statement.
 
“What was presented during the plenary debates and subsequently quoted in various social media posts was a straightforward citation of the data provided by the DOH to the Office of Sen. Angara,” the statement also read.
 
Angara’s office stressed the proper attribution should be with the DOH and not from the senator.
 
“The Senator does not claim to be an expert on the issue and does not have any knowledge about the actual cost of the vaccines other than what was provided to him by the DOH last November,” they also said.
 
Presidential spokesperson Harry Roque had branded as “fake news” allegations that the cost of the COVID-19 vaccines from China’s Sinovac Biotech that would be sold to the Philippines costs P3,600.
 
According to Roque, the price of Sinovac vaccines would only cost around P650, similar to other countries.
 
Earlier, Angara’s office shared data showing that COVID-19 vaccines from Sinovac cost P3, 629 for two doses.
 
Senators are questioning the government’s preference to procure the Chinese-made vaccines, noting its low efficacy rate and lack of peer-reviews from the medical community.