Vaccine czar Carlito Galvez Jr. promised on Wednesday, June 16, that he would allocate more vaccines against the coronavirus disease (COVID-19) in Mindanao after a lawmaker expressed frustration over the apparent lack of supply despite the surge of cases in the region over the past weeks.
"The National Task Force (NTF) Against COVID-19 would like to assure our honorable members of the Congress that we will not neglect the regions, especially those in Mindanao, in our vaccine deployment," Galvez said in a statement.
"Following President Rodrigo Duterte’s directive to deploy more vaccines to the regions, we will immediately send more vaccines in Mindanao as soon as the rest of the deliveries arrive this month," he added.
On Monday, Cagayan de Oro City Rep. Rufus Rodriguez said he would make Galvez accountable for the deaths of Cagayanos due to the lack of jabs in the province.
He said thousands of Cagayanos "would have been alive today" if not for the "very slow, weak response" of the government to their request for vaccines since May. The lawmaker said he had written to Galvez twice already to request for an increase in vaccine supply in Cagayan de Oro City but he said he did not receive any reply.
"I will fault you for the death of barangay chairmen and also my family members. You have failed to give more to cities which are higher, very much high incidence of COVID-19," Rodriguez said during a meeting of the House Committee on Mindanao Affairs.
Undersecretary Isidro Purisima, who represented Galvez during the hearing, apologized for the delay in the vaccine deployment as he gave the assurance that areas such as Cagayan de Oro City will soon be receiving additional vaccine doses.
"We apologize for the shortage of vaccine supplies for the past weeks. But we will definitely increase the allocations. I would like to let the people in Mindanao understand na hindi po natin iniiwan ang Mindanao (we will not leave Mindanao behind). We will address this concern," Purisima said.
Meanwhile, the vaccine czar extended his condolences to the families of those who died of COVID-19 in Mindanao, and appealed to lawmakers for patience as more vaccines are set to be delivered in the coming weeks.
"I offer my sincerest condolences to the families of those who have lost their loved ones to this deadly disease. Mindanao is close to my heart, as I was stationed there for many years as a soldier," said Galvez, a retired Armed Forces of the Philippines (AFP) Chief of Staff.
"We are getting more vaccines there very soon, and Mindanao will not be left behind. This is my promise to all Mindanaoans," he added.
A total of 12 million doses of COVID-19 vaccines have already arrived in the country since February. In June alone, around four million doses were delivered while six million doses are set to arrive.
Galvez explained that the bulk of vaccine shipments only started to arrive in May, and the deployment of the jabs "was based on the government's risk assessment and prioritization categories for the most vulnerable populations."
Galvez said high-risk areas in Mindanao, particularly those which are experiencing surges, will get more allocation once the vaccines are delivered this month.
As of June 14, a total of 1,735,630 vaccine doses have been delivered to Mindanao.
Almost half a million vaccines were transported in most affected areas of Mindanao with 210,000 doses of Pfizer vaccines sent to Davao Region; 35,000 to Cagayan de Oro City, and the rest in Dipolog, Zamboanga City, Cotabato City, Zamboanga del Sur, General Santos City, Koronadal, Bukidnon, and Butuan among others.