Leaders of the Senate are currently working on securing some 5,000 doses of "Sputnik V" vaccines for the senator's staff and employees amid the surge of novel coronavirus disease (COVID-19) cases in the chamber.

Senate Majority Leader Juan Miguel Zubiri disclosed this effort on Wednesday, March 24, as he lamented reports about the inoculation of local executives and village officials ahead of health workers, senior citizens, and persons with co-morbidities, who are at the top in the government's vaccination priority.

"Kung ganon, nauunahan pa tayo ng mga barangay volunteeers, ang Senado, ang mga miyembro ng Kongreso at mga representative secretariats (If that is what's happening, then barangay volunteers are getting ahead of the Senate, member of Congress, and the secretariat in the vaccinations)," Zubiri said during their plenary session.

"Because kung nagbabakuna na po sila ng barangay officials sa Metro Manila, siguro pwede na rin po kaming maumpisahang mabakunahan ang aming mga tao sa Senado. Maski mahuli na po ang mga senador, unahin na muna natin ang ating mga staff (Because if barangay officials in Metro Manila are being vaccinated, maybe we could also start vaccinations among Senate personnel. We can put senators at the back of the line, but we should prioritize our staff)," he further said.

Some 24 Senate employees have contracted COVID-19, prompting the leadership to suspend work and implement a lockdown of the chamber's premises.

Zubiri said he has relayed this request to Malacañang and officials involved in the vaccination program and hopes that the Senate will specifically given an allocation in the Sputnik V vaccines that are set to be delivered in the country.

Vaccine czar Carlito Galvez Jr. earlier said the government is eyeing to procure next month some 3,000,000 doses of the vaccines developed by Russia's Gamaleya Research Institute.

"Hopefully, with this batch of Sputnik Gamaleya coming nto the Philippines next month, or this month...we were appealing if we can buy an allotment of 5,000 doses that's good for 2,500 staff members of the Senate and secreatariat to inoculate them. That's for two doses," he said.'

Zubiri said Senate employees should also be considered frontline workers for their role in the legislative department's continued operations despite the COVID-19 outbreak.

"I may be bashed in social media, my point is, I'm just taking care of our branch of government, the legislative branch of government, which is -- I'd like to emphasize -- that the business of legislation cannot be delayed," he pointed out.

"And with due respect to people who will say 'But the senators, and their work, and the members of the secretariat of the Senate are not frontliners', excuse me, sirs and ma'ams, we are frontline workers," he contined.

Zubiri went on to enumerate that the Senate passed the key measures to respond to the pandemic, saying:  "We passed Bayanihan 1. We also passed Bayanihan 2 that gave the addidtional ayuda to  not only the people but industries as well. We also passed the first in the world, the vaccination law, we are the only country that has a rollout vaccination law."

"We did that during the time of the pandemic," he said.

If employees are downed by COVID-19, "we cannot have hearings, we cannot pass legislation."

"And without legislation we cannot pass key important measures including the national budget," he raised.

"I'm afraid that if we do not protect ourselves in the Senate, in terms of vaccinations, and in terms of medication, we might not be able to our work," he added. "Sana naman (I hope), they consider us also frontliners."

Senate President Vicente Sotto III confirmed that Senate secretariat has gotten in touch with Gamaleya executives about the purchase of Sputnik V vaccines, "and they agreed."

"But the problem is with the IATF (Interagency Task Force on the Management of Emerging Infectious Diseases). Mabagal ang aksyon (They are slow to act), we have no word yet," Sotto said.

"Just to place it on record, ang priority ay 'yong mga empleyado ng Senate (our priority will be the employees of the Senate)," he also pointed out.