Secretary Francisco Duque III denied anew the accusations on the botched Pfizer COVID-19 vaccine deal and insisted that the health department has done its part in signing the confidentiality disclosure agreement.
“There is no dropping of the ball. Ang ginawa natin (What we did was) due diligence. We cannot be reckless in signing documents without legal clearance,” Duque defended.
“This is not like buying chocolates. It’s not like importing chocolates and you say it’s going to Clark Airbase, it’s going to be delivered in January… Kinakailangan mo riyan ‘yung ultra-low storage facility. We don’t have that (We need an ultra-low storage facility. We don’t have that),” he added.
Sec. Duque said Philippine Ambassador to the United States Jose Manuel Romualdez expressed the same sentiment. However, he previously said that other countries have gone way ahead of the Philippines resulting in the non-arrival of Pfizer vaccines this January.
Pfizer is reportedly preparing to apply for an Emergency Use Authorization (EUA) with the country’s Food and Drug Administration (FDA). – Report from Mark Fetalco
