Senator Panfilo Lacson on Monday turned the tables on presidential spokesman Harry Roque after the latter said that the reported price of P3,629 of Sinovac Biotech’s vaccines was “fake news.”
“We dare ask: are Secretary Roque and Secretary (Carlito) Galvez saying that Secretary (Francisco) Duque was the peddler of that fake news?” Lacson asked in his privilege speech during the Senate’s plenary session.
“Imagine this, Mr. President. Marahil kung sakaling hindi natalakay sa pagdinig ng Senado ang kontrobersya ng Sinovac, at assuming natuloy ang original na presyong P3,629 or $38 kada dalawang bakuna o P1,814 equivalent to $19 kada turok, kontra $5 sa Thailand, easily the price difference of 25 million doses would fetch US$350-million or P16.8-billion,” the senator further said.
“That being said, I am not prepared to accuse anyone in particular of corruption. Rather, it defies logic to suspect at least an attempt to overprice the vaccine. Again, when there is an attempt at overpricing, isn’t it also logical to think na may kikita ng limpak-limpak na salapi (that someone will earn millions of money)?” he pointed out.
The price of Sinovac vaccine was earlier indicated in the data released by the office of Sen. Juan Edgardo “Sonny” Angara, who chairs the Senate finance committee.
Angara later on said it was the Department of Health (DOH) that provided his office the price list of the COVID-19 vaccines when the Senate conducted deliberations on the 2021 national budget.
“Mr. President, true to their tactic, ‘if you cannot convince them, confuse them,’ our vaccine program officials brought more confusion and bewilderment in their rush to procure Sinovac,” Lacson said.
“Unluckily for them, we do not get confused easily,” he said.
Lacson reiterated that the Senate should again convene as a Committee of the Whole and resume its inquiry into the government’s COVID-19 vaccination program.
Senate President Vicente Sotto III agreed and scheduled the next public hearing on Friday.