President Rodrigo Duterte on Monday night responded to senators questioning the measures of the government on the purchase of vaccines against the Coronavirus Diseases 2019 (COVID-19).
According to President Duterte, he sought assistance from Chinese President Xi Jinping to ensure vaccine supply for the Philippines even before the issues on vaccine development surfaced.
“Kung sino ka man ganito ‘yan. Long before na pumutok ‘to tumawag na ako kay President Xi Jinping. Tapos sabi ko wala kaming resources. We do not know how to make it (Whoever you are, this how it happened. Long before this broke out, I already called up President Xi Jinping. I told him that we do not have the resources. We do not know how to make it),” he stated.
“Sabi niya (He said), ‘But please remember that we will first vaccinate all of our citizens and they run into billions’, at saka ‘yung mga allied ano nila (and their allies),” he added.
Senators recently raised concerns on the alleged preference of the government to the vaccines made in China which Malacaῆang repeatedly denied.
“Kayong mga senador, in Norway, 25 persons died after receiving Pfizer vaccination. Gusto ninyo? Mag-order kami para sa inyo (Senators, 25 persons died in Norway after receiving Pfizer vaccination. You want that? We will order for you),” Duterte dared.
“Ang Sinovac was being used na sa (Sinovac was already being used in) Thailand, Malaysia, Indonesia, Turkey, Egypt, UAE Abu Dhabi, Brazil. Wala namang nabalitaang patay (No deaths were reported),” he added.
The president also assured that there will be no anomalies in the government’s purchase of COVID-19 vaccines from different manufacturers. – PTV News
