Justice Secretary Menardo Guevarra on Tuesday, Jan. 19, expressed support for transparency in the government’s dealings with manufacturers of vaccines for immunization against the 2019 novel coronavirus disease (COVID-19).
(TOTO LOZANO / PRESIDENTIAL PHOTO / FILE PHOTO / MANILA BULLETIN)
Guevarra declared this after President Duterte’s statement that the government cannot disclose yet the full details of the deals made with pharmaceutical firms due to confidentiality and non-disclosure agreements.
“There may be some good reason for non-disclosure of the commercial terms such as price competition, distribution channels, and so forth,” Guevarra said.
“I believe, however, that absolute transparency is necessary in relation to the safety and efficacy of the vaccine, as the very lives of our people are at stake,” he pointed out.
During a televised public address on Monday, Jan. 18, Duterte said confidential non-disclosure agreements with vaccine makers prevent the government from publicly disclosing the prices of COVID-19 vaccines.
“Every negotiation, ibang agreement na naman ‘yan. It does not involve money but one thing is certain: you cannot divulge the contract price agreed upon,” the President said.
Despite this, Duterte assured the public that no irregularities are taking place in the deals being made.
“Walang magic diyan (There is no magic there),” he said.
The President also pointed out the non-disclosure of prices is an industry practice.
“They sign a memorandum of confidentiality. They cannot reveal the price kasi it will result in, na malugi ‘yung iba — in some countries malugi sila, ‘yung ibang countries, hindi pare-pareho (they might lose profits in some countries. It’s not the same. They want the prices to be in the same range),” he said.