By JOAHNA LEI CASILAO, GMA News
Published December 19, 2020 6:38pm Senate President Vicente Sotto III on Saturday said his disappointment with Health Secretary Francisco Duque III grew amid allegations that the official failed to secure 10 million doses of the COVID-19 vaccine manufactured by Pfizer. Asked if the Duque s negligence was a liability, Sotto said the question should be redirected at President Rodrigo Duterte or Malacañang as the public “already knew his answer.” “Ay, oo [nakadagdag ng disappointment]. Oo, kaya nga ‘yung tanong ninyo, hindi na kailangan kaming tanungin. Ang tanungin niyo ‘yung Malacañang tungkol diyan,” Sotto said in a radio interview.
Sen. Vicente Sotto III (Senate of the Philippines / MANILA BULLETIN FILE PHOTO)
Sotto said that of the bills filed in Senate seeking the creation of new government agencies, the proposed department for overseas Filipino workers (OFWs) would achieve his goal of addressing the government’s bloated bureaucracy.
“‘Yong department of OFW, parang sumasapol sa rightsizing, sa pag-aaral ko…Eh ‘yong OWWA, POEA, magiging kasama doon, mapapaloob sa department of OFW. Eh ‘di nag-rightsize tayo (The department of OFW, based on my study, appears to be appropriate for rightsizing. The Overseas Worker Welfare Administration, Philippine Overseas Employment Administration, will be absorbed in the department for OFWs. We will end up rightsizing),” he told radio DWIZ.
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Senator Francis Pangilinan
(Senate of the Philippines / FILE PHOTO / MANILA BULLETIN)
“Huwag naman sana na may issue ng ‘kickvacc’ sa dropping of the ball ng Pfizer vaccine procurement,” he said when asked about the disclosure that some government officials failed to work on documents required by the US pharmaceutical giant. (I hope there is no kickback in the ‘’dropping of the ball’’ in the Pfizer vaccine procurement.)
The ‘vacc’ Pangilinan was referring to may be COVID-19 vaccine.
Asked about the possible liability of those involved, Pangilinan said: “If it can be established that there was inexcusable failure to act that has led to injury either to the government or any party then Section 3e of the Anti-Graft Law will apply.”
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