Press Release
While there is still a long way to go as far as the government s vaccination efforts are concerned, the controversy involving COVID-19 vaccines from Sinovac should be a hard lesson on honesty and transparency for officials in the program, Sen. Panfilo M. Lacson said Tuesday.
Lacson said that had the officials been forthright about the conditions of negotiations with Sinovac early on, there would have been no speculations or suspicions about the matter. If they had been more forthright and honest in their responses in our first hearing, hindi mafo-focus sa Sinovac, he said in an interview on ANC, stressing that while Congress - the Senate and House of Representatives - are willing partners of the executive department, in return, lawmakers need to be informed also what happened to the appropriations we gave you.
Galvez, Duque should ‘reaffirm’ Sinovac vaccine price to boost public trust Drilon
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Metro Manila (CNN Philippines, January 19) Vaccine czar Carlito Galvez Jr. and Health Secretary Francisco Duque III should reaffirm the price range of China’s Sinovac coronavirus shot to help boost public trust, a senator said on Tuesday.
“It will help a lot if Sec. Galvez and Sec. Duque would reaffirm this price range that they are looking at,” Senate Minority Leader Franklin Drilon said in an interview with CNN Philippines’
The Source. “This would augur well to overcome the mistrust of the people.”
Lawmakers and netizens have earlier raised concerns on the cost of the China-made vaccine, as officials refused to reveal the actual price, citing their non-disclosure agreement. Presidential Spokesperson Harry Roque later said that each dose of the product is priced near ₱650 and won’t exceed ₱700.
Press Release
by Senator Panfilo M. Lacson
Jan. 18, 2021
Mr. President, distinguished colleagues, I rise before you on a matter of collective and personal privilege.
Looking back to last week s Committee of the Whole 2-day hearings, I couldn t help but think that we ve been had. Instead of having the information needed to aid us in our legislative work mainly because some people in the panel of our resource persons who are in charge of the vaccine program were not forthright and honest in their responses to the questions raised by the members of this august chamber.
Nevertheless, we find comfort from the wise words of Winston Churchill, who said and I quote: Truth is incontrovertible, malice may attack it and ignorance may deride it, but, in the end, there it is.
MANILA, Philippines China is not pushing its COVID-19 vaccines as part of its diplomacy, the Philippines’ top diplomat said over the weekend. Foreign Affairs Secretary Teodoro Locsin Jr. said China actually needs many vaccines for its people, but Beijing is donating 500,000 doses to the Philippines in keeping with President Xi Jinping’s commitment to President Duterte. China, Locsin said, offered concessional rates to the Philippines for.
By ERWIN COLCOL, GMA News
Published January 18, 2021 11:40am The League of Provinces of the Philippines (LPP) on Monday joined the call of lawmakers to allow local government units (LGUs) to directly procure COVID-19 vaccines from manufacturers. During the House Committee on Health inquiry into the government s vaccination program, Marinduque Governor Presbitero Velasco Jr., the LPP president, stressed the need for a clear authority from the national government to allow LGUs to procure COVID-19 vaccines. Our only concern is the authority of local governments from the national government to procure directly vaccines from the suppliers, he told the panel. Of course it has to pass through the national government, but we want clear authority to negotiate directly with the suppliers, he added.