MANILA, Philippines — Senate President Pro Tempore Ralph Recto advised the government’s vaccine czar to “assemble his Justice League” to ensure an effective COVID-19 vaccination program, saying that “one Superman” cannot shoulder the responsibility alone.
“No mission is tougher and no stake is higher than providing vaccines for all. But that burden is too heavy for one man to bear,” Recto said in a statement on Wednesday.
“This is not a job for one Superman. He has to assemble his Justice League. Not just from the military, but from all sectors,” he added.
On Monday, President Rodrigo Duterte announced the designation of National Task Force (NTF) on COVID-19 chief implementer Carlito Galvez Jr., a former military man, as vaccine czar.
“I wish General Galvez good luck on his additional assignment as vaccine czar,” Recto said.
Galvez, who is also Duterte’s peace adviser, has been at the forefront of the government’s COVID-19 response since he was named NTF chief.
As vaccine czar, Galvez will lead the distribution process of the vaccines once it becomes available.
According to Recto, Galvez should engage with multiple sectors, “especially businesses with the supply-chain expertise to regularly restock millions of stores of their products seamlessly.”
“He (Galvez) is the mere conductor of an orchestra that must work in perfect symphony. Vaccine delivery is a major production involving millions of moving parts,” the senator said.
“There is the supply-to-syringe challenge of bringing 220 million doses in subzero temperatures to 110 million people in an archipelago where cold chain infrastructure is lacking,” he added.
“If he overcomes this, then on V-Day (Vaccine Day), he will receive the eternal gratitude of our race as a liberator,” he further said.