Negligent local government units (LGUs) with poor daily coronavirus disease-2019 (COVID-19) inoculation record will be investigated through the issuance of show-cause orders, Department of the Interior and Local (DILG) Secretary Eduardo Año said Thursday, Nov. 4.
Año specifically pointed out to the localities with snail-pace vaccination processes or in the worst case whose vaccines were not immediately administered to the desired population and have expired.
With this, Año cautioned the seriousness of the national government to sanction non-performing or LGUs with unsatisfactory vaccination accomplishments.
Expounding on the show-cause-order, Año bared that there will be a meeting where the DILG’s plan is to put up a monitoring system that will determine the number of vaccines delivered to each LGU and how many of them were administered “on a day to day basis.’’
President Duterte in his Talk to the People briefing lamented a faultline in the vaccination process which Año interpreted as the President’s dissatisfaction with the LGUs’ inoculation pacing of the qualified population which is below his expectation.
“At first they are asking a lot of COVID-19 vaccines but now nandyan na yung vaccine hindi nila maadminister ng mabilis na pacing. E ang target is for Nov. is one million a day although malapit na tayo sa 1 million a day ano. Pero gusto natin 1.5 million (a day) para pagdating ng Dec. makuha yung herd immunity (the vaccines are available but they cannot administer them expeditiously. In the pacing the target for Nov. is one million a day. But we prefer it to be i.5 million a day to reach herd immunity by Dec.),’’ Año said.
Año cited the slow COVID-19 inoculation pace of Regions 4-A and 3 areas which he said are adjacent to the National Capital Region (NCR).
“Ang bagal nila (Regions 3 and 4-A vaccination pace). Nauna pa yung ibang regions. Nauna pa yung for example Davao City. Bakit ang Davao City nareach nya yung 70 percent. Dito sa Region 4-A nasa 30 percent pa. (They are very slow. The other regions outdid them. Davao City for example outpaced them). So there is something wrong,’’ he added.
He noted that the vaccination rate in Region 4-A is at a low 30 percent which is far off the expected 60 to 70 percent while he does not have the record of Region 3 as of the moment which is also below par.
Pertaining to the specific areas with poor inoculation performances, Año said that he is still waiting for the list from Secretary Vince Dizon.
Año noted that there will be a meeting with the governors and mayors again for then to thresh out their vaccination administering woes and to determine if there are ample storage facilities and problems in transporting the vaccines from the provincial capital to the municipalities then to the barangays.
The DILG chief assured that the resources of the Philippine National Police (PNP), Armed Forces of the Philippines (AFP) and Bureau of Fire Protection (BFP) will be made avai;able to the LGUs to aid in their vaccination programs. (Chito A. Chavez)