President Rodrigo Duterte will address the nation tonight, Presidential Spokesperson Harry Roque confirmed on Monday afternoon.
According to the presidential spokesperson, the public should just wait for the decision of President Duterte whether he will have himself vaccinated first in line or last against COVID-19 amid his varying statements on the matter.
Malacaῆang also denied claims that President Rodrigo Duterte was already vaccinated against COVID-19 last year.
“Haka-haka lang po ‘yan. Ang totoo po niyan, siyempre depende kung ano sa tingin ng Presidente ang kaniyang mensahe sa bayan sa kaniyang lingguhang ‘Talk to the People’ (That is only a rumor. The truth is his message to the public depends on what he sees fit in his weekly ‘Talk to the People’),” Roque explained.
Regarding the vaccine that will be safe to be administered to President Duterte, Dr. Rontgene Solante, an infectious disease expert, said it would be “those with published phase 3 trials” such as Pfizer, Moderna, and AstraZeneca.
Solante added that they “haven’t reviewed yet the Sinovac”.
Roque reiterated that the Philippines is not favoring the Sinovac vaccine over the other brands, saying that the negotiation with the company is not yet finished. The cost of the Sinovac vaccine will not differ from the price in Indonesia which is around ₱650 to ₱700 per dose.
“Ang Indonesia naman po, 122 million ang inorder. Ibig sabihin, bulto. So siyempre they will get the best price, at inaasahan po natin na the best price will also be accorded to the Philippines (Indonesia ordered 122 million which is in bulk. Of course, they will get the best price and we expect the best price will also be accorded to the Philippines),” he stated.
Meanwhile, Sec. Roque floated the possibility of placing some areas under new normal or the lowest community quarantine classification as the government is set to declare classifications for February.
The implementation of the new normal classification will still depend on analytics and is still up for discussion. However, “it has been approved in principle” and the do’s and don’ts are now being formulated. – Report from Mela Lesmoras
