MANILA, Philippines — Low-income families who received cash assistance from the government will be first to receive the vaccine against the coronavirus disease (COVID-19) once it becomes available, President Rodrigo Duterte said.
“Ang mauna, yung walang wala. Ang una talaga yung mga tao sa listahan na tumatanggap ng assistance sa gobyerno,” Duterte said in a taped address aired Friday.
Noting that it will become free, Duterte said middle-income earners and uniformed personnel will also be prioritized to receive the vaccine.
“Pangalawa yung middle income. Libre to, hindi ko ito ipagbili,” Duterte said.
“And also my military and my police because I need a strong backbone. The backbone of my administration is the uniformed personnel of government,” he went on.
The President apologized to the well-off, saying he was not considering them to receive a free vaccine against COVID-19 from the government.
“Yung mga mayaman, wag ninyo na ako isipin kasi hindi ako nagiisip sa inyo. Sorry na lang,” Duterte said.