President Duterte has reminded local government units to get clearance from the country's drug regulators on their vaccination acquisition efforts, saying it is a mandatory requirement.
(REY BANIQUET / PRESIDENTIAL PHOTO / FILE PHOTO / MANILA BULLETIN)
The President said he would not oppose the LGUs’ own vaccine procurement but told them to ensure the supplies have passed the standards of the Food and Drug Administration (FDA).
Duterte had previously said the national government would not meddle with the vaccine purchase of the local government units and the private sector if they have the funds.
"Let me be very clear. Doon sa mga local governments, Sakur, wala akong objection kung magbili ang local government para iturok doon sa mga tao. Okay ‘yan. Walang inggitan ‘to, puro tayo gobyerno (Let me very clear. To the local government units, Sakur, I have no objection if the local governments buy vaccines for their people. That's okay. There is no envy. We're all in government)," Duterte said during a visit to Sulu Friday, where Sulu Gov. Abdusakur Tan, was present.
"Ang akin lang is that kung ano man ang i-ano ninyo, i-vaccinate, just clear it with the FDA. Lahat naman dumadaan talaga diyan eh. So it’s a mandatory requirement. Other than that, I have nothing to do. That’s a requirement of law, sunod lang tayo (But for me is that whatever vaccine you will use, just clear it with FDA. All those products pass through it so it's a mandatory requirement. Other than that, I have nothing to do. That's a requirement of the law. We just follow)," he said.
The FDA, a regulatory agency under the Department of Health, is mandated by law to ensure the safety, efficacy, and quality of food, drugs, devices, cosmetics, and other health products in the country.
So far, the FDA has approved the coronavirus vaccines developed by Pfizer-BioNTech for emergency use in the country. Applications from other brands of vaccines remain pending before the drug regulators.
Several local government units and private companies recently forged a supply deal for additional 17 million doses from British drugmaker AstraZeneca. Around 2.6 million shots of AstraZeneca vaccines have also been secured late last year. Both supply agreements were made under a tripartite arrangement with the national government.
In addition, the government has secured 30 million doses from Novavax and 25 million from Sinovac, which are expected to be delivered this year. A small shipment from Pfizer vaccines under the COVAX facility, the global pooled vaccine procurement, is also expected to arrive in the country this month.
In his remarks in Sulu, the President said the national government intends to give free inoculations to people, especially the poor and the uniformed personnel, as protection against the coronavirus. The priority list of vaccine beneficiaries also includes the country's medical frontliners and the senior citizens.
"Ngayon, ‘yung akin para sa hindi ma…maserbisan ng local governments. So ‘yung lahat sabi ko una ‘yung mga mahirap. Iyon talagang mga mahirap na isang tuka, isang kahig. Unahin ko ‘yon pati ‘yung uniformed service kasi eh kung paano kung magkasakit itong lahat (We will look after those will not be served by the local governments. We will prioritize the poor, those who live hand-to-mouth. I will prioritize them and the uniformed service because if they get sick) how can we function a government with a sick soldier or policeman in your midst," he said.