Senator Risa Hontiveros has filed a resolution seeking a probe in aid of legislation on the reported unused and expired Covid-19 vaccines, saying such error must not be tolerated.
The opposition senator made the move amid reports that billions of pesos worth of Covid-19 vaccine, which were beyond the expected wastage, were left unused and expired.
"Of course, may mga vaccines na alam nating hindi magagamit dahil sa iba’t ibang dahilan. May margin of error naman talaga (Of course there are vaccines that aren't used because of various reasons. There really is a margin of error)," she said.
"But in this case, goodbye agad sa halagang bilyun-bilyong piso? Mukhang magtatapon tayo ng pera at bakuna sa kabila ng mabilis nanamang pagtaas ng mga COVID-19 cases (But in this case, should we simple say goodbye to billions of pesos? It seems like we're throwing money and vaccines away despite the rising cases of Covid-19)," she added.
Hontiveros's resolution also advised government authorities to strive for less Covid-19 vaccine wastage as well as to accurately and transparently report vaccine wastage, identify drivers of wastage, and implement effective interventions to reduce it.
"Saan ba nagkamali o nagkulang sa proseso? Sa pagplano sa pagbili? Sa roll out? Sa paglabas ng guidelines? (Where did we go wrong? In purchase planning? In the rollout? In the release of guidelines?)" she asked.
Hontiveros lamented that while many sectors are asking for assistance, those who are responsible for vaccine purchase are just throwing money.
"Kung alam lang natin na ganyan ang kahihinatnan, dapat ibinigay na lang natin ang pondo sa ibang sektor na lubhang apektado ng pandemya, tulad ng mga magsasaka, mga mangingisda, mga drayber, at frontliners (If we only knew that this would happen, we should have just given the fund to other sectors gravely affected by the pandemic, such as farming, fishing, transportation, and healthcare)," she said.