Senate President Vicente “Tito” Sotto III has set a Senate hearing on the country’s vaccination program on the second Monday of January next year. By that time, he believes that people would have been back from their out of town trips and family get-together, and will be ready to answer questions
While some politicians have already gotten themselves injected for protection against the Coronavirus Disease (COVID-19), Senate President Sotto reiterated that around 70% of the Philippine population will be prioritized under the proposed 2021 national budget recently submitted to the Office of the President.
President Rodrigo Roa Duterte is expected to sign the general appropriations proposal before yearend.
The Senate hearing will zero in on the government’s process of distribution and vaccine roll out as well as confirm which part of the population will be really part of the first batch of the COVID-19 vaccination.
The Inter-Agency Task Force for the Management of Emerging Infectious Diseases (IATF-EID) and the Department of Health (DOH) will be invited to lay out where the ₱72 Billion allotment for the vaccines will specifically go.
Meanwhile, referring to Foreign Affairs Sec. Teddy Boy Locsin’s issue with Health Sec. Francisco Duque on “dropping the ball” in the Pfizer vaccine deal due to the latter’s alleged failure to meet the requirements, Senate Health Committee Chairman Senator Christopher Bong Go reminded members of the Executive Department to prioritize the nation’s need for safe and effective vaccines over bickering.
“Si Sec. Duque naman nag-explain. Sabi niya pag itong vaccine kung pipirmahan nya agad during that time (in) September, ‘di pa po sigurado. Mas mahirap naman po na pirmahan agad (Sec. Duque has already explained. He said that he could not sign during that time (in) September since there was no certainty that the vaccine was already safe. It would have been difficult to haphazardly sign),” Sen. Bong Go shared.
President Rodrigo Roa Duterte has earlier authorized Chief Implementer of National Action Plan against COVID 19 Sec. Galvez as Vaccine Czar to lead negotiations for the procurement of COVID-19 vaccines.
Priority sectors to avail of the inoculation has also been identified to include frontliners, vulnerable people especially senior citizens, police and military personnel and teachers. –Report from Eunice Samonte