The Department of Tourism (DOT) welcomed on Monday, April 12, the approval of its proposal to construct walk-in and drive-through immunization centers in a portion of the Nayong Pilipino Foundation (NPF) in Parañaque City.
"This is expected to be a game-changer in the vaccination program. The facility, which will be a public-private partnership, is expected to vaccinate at least 12,000 people a day," Tourism Sec. Bernadette Romulo-Puyat said in a statement.
The Inter-Agency Task Force (IATF) on Emerging Infectious Diseases ratified the DOT-endorsed initiative to build a free and temporary vaccination center on the vacant lot of NPF, which is an attached agency of the tourism department.
"We are hoping that in 40 days we will have a temporary mega vaccination drive-thru facility in the remaining portion of the Nayong Pilipino," Puyat said in a virtual press briefing, also on Monday.
According to the DOT, the National Task Force against COVID-19 (NTF) shall enter into an agreement with the NPF to ensure the project's immediate execution. The NPF Board has already given its preliminary approval of the project.
The DOT said the move affirms its continuing commitment to support the government's mass vaccination program, and is consistent with its earlier endorsement to include tourism frontliners in the priority list of vaccinees.