President Duterte thanked China for the latest donation of Sinopharm vaccines against the coronavirus disease (COVID-19) that can sustain the country's fight against the pandemic.
The President asked Chinese Ambassador to the Philippines Huang Xilian to relay his "deepest gratitude" to Chinese President Xi Jinping, citing the vaccine donation and other assistance in pandemic response demonstrated the strong ties between the two countries.
China delivered 739,200 doses of Sinopharm jabs Friday as part of the 1 million jab donation. The remaining Chinese donated vaccines are expected to arrive in the coming days.
“My fellow Filipinos, we welcome the arrival of the additional 1 million doses of COVID-19 vaccines from Sinopharm donated by the People’s Republic of China. We are receiving these life-saving vaccines with much gratitude and high hopes as we continue our fight against COVID-19 and its variants," Duterte said during a virtual ceremony to mark the arrival of the Sinopharm jabs.
The President is also grateful for China's various COVID-related assistance including the donation of medical supplies and equipment. China, he said, also provided technical support to the country's pandemic response.
“These initiatives are indeed a testament of the goodwill of the Chinese government and the deep strong relations between the Philippines and China," he said.
“These additional doses will definitely boost our efforts to ramp up our vaccination rollout and allow us to achieve herd immunity soon," he said.
Before wrapping up his remarks, Duterte offered his thanks to the Chinese leader and promised to stay "neutral" amid the United States-China rivalry.
“May I request His Excellency Ambassador Huang Xilian to convey to President Xi Jinping my deepest gratitude and many, many thanks for China’s attitude to us," he said.
"That even though in these challenging times of geopolitics, Philippines will stay neutral and remain true to what we have guaranteed China at least during my term," he said.