Roque taunts critics 'rejoicing' over COVID-19 vaccine delay
The revelry of critics on the delay of the coronavirus vaccines' delivery will not last long, according to Presidential spokesman Harry Roque.
(PRESIDENTIAL PHOTO / FILE PHOTO / MANILA BULLETIN)
Roque announced Monday that the government will soon begin the immunization program after the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) gave the green light for the emergency use of Sinovac vaccines in the country.
The Palace admitted there has been a slight delay in the vaccine rollout but he rejected allegations the government bungled the procurement process. He attributed the vaccine delay to issues related to indemnity and regulatory approval.
"We obviously disagree," Roque said during a televised press briefing Monday, Feb. 22, when asked to comment on Senate Majority Franklin Drilon's statement that the vaccine delay was due to mismanagement.
"Anyway, they are entitled to say what they want pero gaya ng aking sinabi sandali lang po ang kaligayahan ng ating mga kritiko dahil tuloy na po ang ating vaccination program (but like I said, the happiness of the critics will be short-lived because our vaccination program will push through). Enjoy it while it lasts for a very short while," he added.
Mismanagement
In an interview over ANC Headstart Monday, Drilon said the delay in the arrival of COVID-19 vaccines in the Philippines was reportedly due to the mismanagement of the procurement process and not because of the lack of an indemnity law.
“We have to cue and we are last in the cue because of our failure to make an advance payment early enough. These alleged indemnity agreements are not the cause of these delays,” Drilon said.
“The fact that this is only foisted to us last week is an indication that the supply agreement is not the cause of the delays. Unfortunately, I have already seen in the media some blame being put on Congress for failing to
pass this law. That’s totally unfair,” the minority leader added.
“It is the mismanagement of this entire process that caused the delay in our procurement,” he said.
Roque said, "'Yung mga kritiko ng gobyerno, pasensiya na po, talaga pong naantala nang ilang araw pero tuloy na po ang bakuna (To government critics, bear with the slight delay in the vaccine delivery but the vaccination will proceed)," he added.
On the Pfizer and AstraZeneca vaccines covered by the World Health Organization's (WHO) COVAX facility, Roque said the drug manufacturers first wanted an indemnity deal before the supplies are delivered to the country.
"Mayroon tayong liham, hindi made-deny ang liham na galing sa COVAX na mid-February darating yung Pfizer at saka AstraZeneca. Kaya lang po may mga natakot na manufacturers dahil dito lang sa Pilipinas nadedemanda ang mga bakuna na naaprubahan hindi lang FDA kung hindi WHO (We received a letter from COVAX facility that stated the delivery of Pfizer and AstraZeneca will begin in mid-February. But the manufacturers got scared because it is only in the Philippines where manufacturers can be sued for vaccines approved not only by (the) FDA but also by (the) WHO)," he said.
"Siyempre kailangan nila protektahan ang kanilang interes baka mamaya makulong sila, eh sila na nga gumagawa ng bakuna para sa COVID-19 (Of course, they wanted to protect their interest otherwise they might land in jail even if they developed the vaccines for COVID-19," he added.
The FDA has issued the emergency use authorization (EUA) for the coronavirus vaccines developed by China’s Sinovac Biotech. The vaccines
however have not been recommended for the use of health workers due to
its 50.4 percent efficacy. Instead, the vaccines could be used by healthy persons aged 18 to 59.
With the FDA approval of Sinovac, Roque said around 600,000 vaccines, donated by China to the Philippines, are expected to be delivered to the
country in the coming days. China needed only three days to deliver
the supplies to the Philippines, he added. (With a report from Hannah
Torregoza)