League of Provinces of the Philippines (LPP) president and Marinduque governor Presbitero Velasco Jr. has called on the national government on Sunday, May 16, to send more coronavirus disease-2019 (COVID-19) vaccines in the provinces especially those placed under modified general community quarantine (MGCQ).
Velasco, however, admitted to being aware of the limited vaccine supply in the country.
“Hindi naman ho natin sila (national government) ma-be-blame sila sa ganyan (lack of supply). Alam naman natin na kaunti pa ang supplies pa dahil pahirapan pa po (We cannot blame them on this. We know the scarcity of the supplies due to the difficulty in securing them),’’ Velasco said in an interview over GMA News.
However, Velasco still saw the need to add more vaccine supplies in the local government units (LGUs) specifically placed under the MGCQ to provide more protection to the people in these areas.
With the NCR (National Capital Region)- plus covering Metro Manila, Bulacan, Laguna, Cavite, and Rizal under general community quarantine (GCQ) with heightened restrictions, Velasco hopes that vaccination will be made faster to accomplish herd immunity.
Since the quarantine protocols were relaxed in the NCR-plus and other MECQ areas, Velasco requested that they be given additional vaccine supplies as the COVID-19 jab stock remains low in the provinces.
So far, Velasco noted that the provincial governments already made payments and orders for vaccines but the supply has yet to arrive.
“Halos walang magamit na bakuna. 'Yung iba nabayaran talagang kakaunti o halos wala pang dinedeliver (We almost run of vaccine supply. Some have paid but it is still not enough and some supplies have not been delivered),’’ he added. (Chito A. Chavez)