The government can deploy 13 naval and coast guard ships to help transport coronavirus vaccine supplies across the country as well as military medical personnel to be trained for the rollout of the preventive drug, Defense Secretary Delfin Lorenzana said Monday.

Lorenzana informed President Duterte that the Philippine Navy has four ships while the Coast Guard has nine vessels equipped with cold storage facilities for the vaccines.

In the meeting with the President and some Cabinet members Monday night, the defense chief offered the military assets to help ensure the safe transport of the vaccines and prevent them from getting spoiled during distribution.

"Napag-alaman ko sa Philippine Navy na mayroon silang apat na barko na may mga freezers na ang range ng temperature ay 15 --- -15 to -18 degrees. Apat po ‘yan. Ang capacity po lahat niyan --- total capacity ay five tons. Puwede po nating gamitin ito ‘pag magta-transport ng bakuna mula Manila at sa mga islands dito sa Visayas at saka dito pa sa Luzon siguro (I've learned the Philippine Navy has four ships with freezers with temperature range of minus 15 to 18 degrees Celsius. The capacity of the four ships is five tons. We can use these vessels to transport vaccines from Manila, the islands in Visayas, Luzon),” Lorenzana said in his remarks aired on state television.

"Iyon po na pong --- Philippine Coast Guard naman ay mayroon silang siyam na barko na ang temperature range ng kanilang mga freezer ay 20 to 25 degrees minus. So this is ideal, Mr. President, to transport also. Ang capacity po in total is about 526 cubic feet. So malaki-laki rin po ‘yon (The Philippine Coast Guard has nine ships with the temperature range of the freezer between 20 to 25 degrees Celsius. So this is ideal, Mr. President, to transport. The capacity in total is about 526 cubic feet. It is huge)," he added.

Lorezana said they have also accepted the offer of Presidential adviser for entrepreneurship Joey Concepcion to help train military medical personnel for the vaccination program. The training of the soldiers is scheduled next week and will be completed in time for the rollout, he added.

"Ngayon po doon sa rollout na ‘yan at ang Armed Forces po ay nasa forefront ng rollout kasi mayroon tayong --- marami tayong hospital --- hospitals ng mga Army at saka Armed --- ‘yung area commands na nagkalat sa buong bansa (On the rollout, the Armed Forces is in the forefront of the rollout because we have many Army hospitals in area commands scattered across the country)," he said.

The President earlier said he wants the military to help in the immunization drive of Filipinos. The free inoculations could be distributed in military camps across the country.

From the millions of doses secured from various foreign suppliers, the government expects the arrival of the first shipment of the coronavirus vaccines next month. The priority vaccine beneficiaries include medical frontliners, seniors, poor citizens, and uniformed personnel.