The government should expedite the roll out of its COVID-19 vaccination program to address the decline of the Philippine economy, Senator Joel Villanueva said on Thursday.
Villanueva said the 9.5-percent contraction of the country's gross domestic product for the 2020 should prompt the administration to speed up the inoculation program.
"The vaccination program remains the biggest economic stimulus. A vaccine is the powerful shot-in-the-arm that will inject consumer confidence into the economy and jolt it back to life," he said in a statement.
"The sooner workers get vaccinated, the earlier our economic recovery will be," he pointed out.
Villanueva also reiterated that essential workers should be prioritized in the vaccination program to allay uncertainty and to further open the economy.
"When workplaces are made safe, the single biggest hindrance to ramping up productivity is removed. Kasama na rin po dito ang pampublikong transportasyon (This includes the public transportation sector)," the chairman of the Senate labor committee said.
"Babangon po ang ekonomiya kung may bakuna. Ang bakunang itinuturok po ang pinakamabisang ayuda (The economy will recover if there are vaccines. The vaccines are the best assistance we can give)," he said.
The government is looking to implement the vaccination program by February, with 50 to 70 million Filipinos targeted to be given the COVID-19 vaccines this year.
Vaccine czar Carlito Galvez Jr. said 148 million doses of the vaccine will be procured from at least seven pharmaceutical companies abroad.