LGUs buying vaccines required to enter into tripartite agreements under Senate bill
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Metro Manila (CNN Philippines, February 12) Senator Migz Zubiri clarified on Friday that local governments who intend to buy COVID-19 vaccines for their constituents are still required to enter into tripartite agreements with vaccine makers and the national government under the bill he filed.
“This bill was requested by our LGUs, and it will only apply to our LGUs with tripartite agreements,” Zubiri, who authored Senate Bill 2042, said in a statement.
He made the statement in response to the Healthcare Professionals Alliance Against COVID-19’s opposition to the passage of SB 2042, as it states that LGUs “may directly” buy COVID-19 vaccines. The group believes allowing LGUs to directly procure experimental vaccines will bypass the required recommendations of experts from the Health Technology Assessment Council, lead to the maldistribution of supply,
The Department of Health (DOH) said that the country's policies for the coronavirus disease (COVID-19) pandemic is “always guided by science."
(JANSEN ROMERO / MANILA BULLETIN)
The DOH made the statement after a survey report titled “The State of Southeast Asia: 2021” released by ASEAN Studies
By ERWIN COLCOL, GMA News
Published February 11, 2021 6:12pm The measure seeking to allow local government units (LGU) to speed up procurement of COVID-19 vaccines will only cause a maldistribution of vaccines based on capacity to pay, the spokesperson for an alliance of healthcare professionals said Thursday. During a Senate hearing, Dr. Antonio Dans of the Healthcare Professionals Alliance Against COVID-19 expressed his opposition to Senate Bill 2042. The measure will serve as a legal cover allowing LGUs to expedite their procurement of COVID-19 vaccines by exempting them from provisions under the Government Procurement Reform Act. If local government units and private entities have the funds to procure vaccines for their constituents and employees, and the manufacturers are willing to deal with them, then let us give them the authority to do so, said Senate Majority Leader Juan Miguel Zubiri, who sponsors the measure.
(JANSEN ROMERO / MANILA BULLETIN)
He noted that many countries have been using the saliva RT-PCR test since last year. These include Israel, Japan, Hong Kong, United Kingdom, Australia and Thailand, he said.
“Talagang minsan nahuhuli tayo at minsan meron pang paduda. Naiinis nga ako. Ang impatience ko dun sa talagang mabagal magtrabaho at hinihila ang paa, parang limang toneladang hinihila sa bagal. Heto nagkakandamatay na ang tao, mabagal pa sila wala silang sense of urgency (Sometimes, we are really lagging behind and there’s doubt sometimes. I am disgusted. My impatience is directed at those who work slowly and those who are dragging their feet as if they are pulling ten tons of load. The people are dying, they are working slowly, no sense of urgency.),” Gordon told Teledyaryo in an interview.