Deputy Speaker and Las Pinas Rep. Camille Villar has sought to recognize the united stance taken by the government and the private sector in trying to defeat the dreaded novel coronavirus disease (COVID-19) through vaccination.
Villar filed House Resolution 1620 proposing to acknowledge the active coordination among private firms, local government units, private organizations and the national government for the mass inoculation that is expected to slow down the spread of COVID-19 infection.
Villar noted that the national vaccination program has started to gather pace as vaccines started arriving.
"The apparent show of force among business leaders, local government units and other private organizations in close coordination with the national government demonstrates unity and bayanihan in these difficult times as they believe that protecting the public is the only way to mitigate the public health and economic impacts of the global pandemic that already claimed lives of millions and disrupted the lives of countless people," she said.
"The government and the private sector are collaborating in vaccination service delivery to the public to bring the pandemic to an end and move toward arresting deaths and uplifting the domestic economy," said the lawmaker, particularly commending the Interagency Task Force for the Management of Emerging Infectious Diseases (IATF), the OCTA Research Team of the University of the Philippines, Philippine National Red Cross, Philippine Foundation for Vaccination, various local government units (LGUs) and business groups for their efforts.
The country received its first batch of 600,000 doses donated by China's Sinovac Biotech last Feb. 28. Some 700 "frontliners" were vaccinated on the first day of the vaccination rollout in the country.
The first shipment of AstraZeneca vaccines from the COVAX facility of the World Health Organization has also arrived.
Moderna and Pfizer vaccines, considered by experts as among the most effective against COVID-19 virus, are also expected starting May.
The IATF headed by former general Carlito Galvez and some 300 companies and 39 LGUs have secured 17 million doses of vaccines developed by drug manufacturer AstraZeneca together with the University of Oxford. The government is also in talks with other vaccine manufacturers for a massive vaccination drive.
Private organizations, business groups and several firms are actively involved in the coronavirus testing operations, quarantine and vaccination rollouts and have invested massively to help get the pandemic under control, Villar stressed.
The OCTA Research Group, the Las Piñas Lone District representative said, "must also be commended for their efforts in updating the public on COVID-19 risks and precautions and assisting the government in decision-making."