Senator Imee R. Marcos on Tuesday lauded President Duterte for striking down an attempt by the Department of Health (DOH) to block certain industries from purchasing COVID-19 vaccines.
(Senate of the Philippines / FILE PHOTO / MANILA BULLETIN)
“Thank you, Tatay Digong, for being a true father of the nation. Truly, there is hope that more Filipinos can be vaccinated at the soonest possible time, now that private companies can freely purchase vaccines,” Marcos said told the President in a statement.
Last week, Marcos bared a move by the DOH to block “not just companies but whole industries” from purchasing vaccines, including manufacturers of tobacco products and those deemed in conflict with public health, as well as liquor, sugared drinks, and even breast milk substitutes.
This was contained in a draft administrative order forwarded to the President for his signature.
Various Filipino-Chinese firms had also complained that the Inter-Agency Task Force for the Management of Emerging Infectious Diseases (IATF-EID), led by Health Secretary Francisco Duque III, had been preventing them from procuring vaccines as early as June last year.
Marcos said the extent of the IATF’s "apparent squeeze" on private companies affected members of Filipino-Chinese chambers of commerce.
“There’s a hint of corporate lobbying and maneuvering there, if not racism,” she said.
Marcos said President Duterte’s new directive to Carlito Galvez Jr., chief of the National Task Force Against COVID-19 and vaccine czar, to “sign any and all documents” allowing the private sector to buy vaccines would benefit the whole country.
“This will accelerate the pace of the government’s mass inoculation program. Whole industries will now be able to provide vaccines not only for their workers but also for other Filipinos through donations stipulated in tripartite agreements among the government, vaccine makers and private companies,” she explained.
Marcos, however, said: “After the collective sigh of relief, the pandemic and its opportunists remain. The President must take care. Friends as bogus as fake vaccines may spoil his wise decision and good intentions."
"Watch out for the entry of fake vaccines!” she also warned.