The Senate is set to conduct a hearing on January to discuss the direction of the country concerning the vaccine.
Senators have been raising eyebrows on the issue of vaccines against COVID-19, saying that the distribution and primary beneficiaries of the nationwide inoculation is not yet clear.
Senator Imee Marcos insisted that “the principle should be highest risk first” and not the prioritization of those with connections.
“Dahil hindi maliwanag ang plano sa vaccine rollout, lumalabas na nagkakanya-kanya ang mga nasa administrasyon sa pagbabakuna at nag-uunahan pa bago pa man maaprubahan ng FDA ang paggamit ng mga bakunang ito sa bansa (It seems that those in the administration are doing it on their own and are already racing to get first even before the FDA’s approval of its usage in the country) because the vaccine rollout plan is not clear,” Senator Francis Pangilinan stated.
For Senate President Vicente Sotto III, there is nothing wrong with the vaccination of some members of the military, saying that “there is no law that says you cannot take any medicine or vaccine that FDA has not approved.”
Senate Majority Leader Juan Miguel Zubiri said vaccine talks are on top of their agenda next year and suggested that there should be a briefing at the Senate regarding the efficacy rate of vaccines eyed by the country.
Sotto said that the target is to get around 70 percent of the citizens vaccinated under the 2021 national budget.
Senator Christopher Go also assured that the poor will be prioritized and urged the government to show that the vaccines are safe.
Meanwhile, some senators were not pleased with the recent “no vaccine, no VFA” remarks of President Rodrigo Duterte.
“It is at the very least, unfortunate. I think there could be a more diplomatic or at least a better way of asking a longtime ally to help us avail of the vaccines for our people without sounding like we are blackmailing our way into it,” Senator Panfilo Lacson stated.
Senator Richard Gordon also described it as “totally inappropriate, mercenary, and lessens the dignity of the Philippines.” – Report from Eunice Samonte
