'Fault lines' exist in vaccination rollout, but Duterte has a solution

President Duterte has raised what he called "fault lines" in the country's rollout of coronavirus disease (COVID-19) vaccines, along with a way to address them.

"May nakita kaming fault lines sa overall picture ng program ng vaccination (We saw a faultline in the overall picture of the vaccination program)," Duterte said Wednesday morning, Nov. 3, in his pre-recorded "Talk to the People" public briefing.

He went on to describe gaps in the distribution of the life-saving vaccines, particularly in the countryside.

"Hindi ko malaman kung saan talaga nagkakamali, kung may mali, bakit mahina ang ano. Ang paglabas ng bakuna dito sa nasyunal , medyo OK. Ang problema pagdating doon sa provincial, regional level, doon nagkakaroon ng medyo problema (I can't determine where the mistake is, if there really is a mistake, why the deployment is weak. Here in the National Capital Region , it's somewhat OK. The problem occurs when it comes to the provincial and regional level)," Duterte said.

"So that even in the matter of deploying them to the proper sites, eh mahina (it's weak)," the Chief Executive underscored.

Presidential Spokesperson Harry Roque reported Tuesday that 87.78 percent or 8.5 million people in NCR or Metro Manila are fully vaccinated from COVID-19. However, on a nationwide scale, only 35.47 percent or around 27.3 million Filipinos are fully vaccinated.

"Eh medyo hindi ako nakuntento (I'm somewhat not contented). To this end, I have reiterated my instructions to our agencies to ensure that our local government units (LGUs) will receive their daily jab performance so that out country can reach the target of one million jabs or more every day," Duterte said in the briefing, which was recorded late Tuesday night.

"I have ordered Secretary Galvez, the PNP (Philippine National Police) and the AFP (Armed Forces of the Philippines) to provide all the necessary support to our LGUs, particularly in delivery of vaccines and mobilization of resources," he said.

"I have also ordered Secretary Año to impose the necessary sanction against LGUs and local chief executives who are not performing nor using the doses given to them in a most expeditious manner. I will hold each and every LGU accountable for this," Duterte warned local officials.

Duterte said that from the arrival of the vaccines at the airport, the air assets of the PNP and AFP--particularly their helicopters--will take over the handling of the cargo.

"Sila na ang maghatid doon sa mga municipal governments...Yung mga helicopter at makaka-landing naman safely sa mga lugar ng mga munisipyong may kailangan, eh di yun nalang ang gamitin. Yun ang utos ko kasi medyo may ano tayo dito sa pagbaba ng distribution (They will be the ones to deliver to the municipal governments...The helicopters can land safely in the municipalities that need the vaccines, so let's use them instead. That’s my order because we have a slight problem when it comes to distribution to the provinces)," he said.

Duterte said that coursing the vaccines through the provincial government first upon their arrival to the country would just be "another gridlock".

"Ang problema nito, kung pagdating doon, mayroon bang sufficient number of people who can do the task of injecting? Kasi...if we adopt this program, ma-deliver kaagad namin (The problem is, when the vaccines arrive there, would there be a sufficient number of people who can do the task of injecting? Because...if we adopt this problem, we will deliver it immediately)," he noted.

"Dapat lang pagdating doon, eh talagang nandoon na yung mga tao (The people must be there when the vaccines arrive), the human resource side would he ready to do the injections. Kung sakali mangyari ito (If this ever happens), I hope the local governments, the mayors, would take time really to attend to this problem of delay," Duterte said.