Makati City has allotted ₱1 billion for the procurement of COVID-19 vaccines to ensure that all of its more than 500,000 residents will get vaccinated for free, Mayor Abigail Binay announced on Monday.

Likewise, Taguig City intends to inoculate all its residents as it prepares a budget for the purchase of COVID-19 vaccines.

The cities of Pasig , Mandaluyong, and Parañaque have also earmarked budgets to inoculate some of its residents.

Mayor Binay said City Hall officials are now coordinating with vaccine Czar Carlito Galvez Jr. and the COVID19 Inter-Agency Task Force for the Management of Infectious Diseases (IATF) to finalize details of the purchase and mass vaccination.

“This is our number one priority for 2021. I want each and every Makatizen to receive both doses of the coronavirus vaccine for free to protect them and their families against the virus,” Binay said.

“We’ve seen the damage it can do both to human lives and our economy. After everything we’ve lost this year, we will do whatever it takes to protect our residents, employees, and our business community,” she continued.

According to Binay, she will ask the City Council to pass a supplemental budget as soon as the city gets the go ahead from the IATF.

“We will exhaust all means to get the much-needed vaccines early and have all Makatizens vaccinated.”

Moreover, the mayor said the city government will assist companies and businesses that would like to buy vaccines for their employees and workers.

“We are aiming for 100 percent vaccination in Makati,” Binay said.

Preparations for online registration are reportedly underway to ensure safe and convenient access of Makati residents to free vaccination against COVID-19.

In a broadcast on Facebook, Taguig Mayor Lino Cayetano unveiled the city’s Vaccination Delivery Plan to make sure residents will have access to the vaccine.

“We are working closely with the national government and we want to assure Taguigeños that we have a vaccination delivery plan,” Cayetano said.

He added, “After the allotment of the national government, we are working hard directly with the vaccine manufacturers that beside what will be provided by the national government, we are setting aside money to make sure that every Taguigeño has access to the vaccine.”

“We will make sure that in the next few months, year, that the priority will be the safety and health of our Taguigeños. That's why we are very careful and saving money in order to spend on important things,” Cayetano added.

In Pasig City, Mayor Vico Sotto said the local government unit (LGU) has allocated P300 million for the purchase of coronavirus vaccines as it prepares for its vaccination program.

“We also allocated funds here in Pasig. At the very least P300 million,” Sotto said during the Laging Handa press briefing on Monday.

“This is what we already allotted but we can increase this amount depending on the supply that will be made available to us,” Sotto added.

“We are already preparing for our city-wide vaccination,” Sotto said, adding that they are in coordination with the IATF, the Department of Health, and Metro Manila Council.

The mayor said medical frontliners and senior citizen residents will be prioritized in the vaccination program of the city.

“Senior citizens will be our second priority and then we will go from there,” Sotto added.

In Mandaluyong City, Mayor Carmelita Abalos said Monday the city has allocated P200 million for the purchase of the coronavirus vaccines, to augment the vaccination program of the national government in the city.

“As far as I know, we have allotted P200 million for the vaccine,” Abalos said during the city’s weekly Monday morning activity.

According to the mayor, the national government will cover the vaccination for 60 percent of the city’s population, while the rest will be shouldered by the local government.

In Parañaque City, Mayor Edwin Olivarez announced that 300,000 city residents will get coronavirus vaccines as the city government has allotted P250 million for its vaccination program.

“We are targeting half of the city’s present population to be vaccinated as soon we are able to purchase doses of COVID-19 vaccines in 2021,” Olivarez said.

Olivarez said the city government will directly negotiate with the pharmaceutical company approved by the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) when the vaccine becomes available.

“Our funds are ready in case a vaccine for the dreaded disease is already in the country anytime soon,” Olivarez said. (With reports from Jhon Aldrin Casinas and Jean Fernando)

Jel Santos & Jonathan Hicap

Makati, Taguig to immunize all their residents; 3 other cities ready budgets