Drilon pushes for higher COVID-19 vaccine procurement, administration budget

MANILA, Philippines — Senate Minority Leader Franklin Drilon said Sunday he will be pushing for a higher budget for the procurement and administration of vaccines for the coronavirus disease 2019 in the 2021 national budget.

Drilon said the P2.4 billion earmarked for next year for the purchase of coronavirus disease (COVID-19) vaccines is “grossly insufficient.”

“The DOH said so that we are short of P10 billion but I believe it is way beyond that,” he said in a statement, citing huge logistical and human resource requirements.

“That is why we will be pushing for more budget for the procurement and administration of potential coronavirus vaccines. Congress has the appropriate money to buy the vaccine and the best time to do it is now while we are deliberating on the spending outlay,” he added.

Drilon said he supports the policy direction laid out by vaccine czar Carlito Galvez Jr., who earlier said the government intends to purchase an initial batch of 24 million COVID-19 vaccines once it becomes available next year.

However, Drilon noted that the proposed P4.5 trillion national budget for 2021 “does not support that vision” as it only earmarks a measly P2.4 billion for the procurement of the vaccines.

“We support the intention. There is a disconnect, however, between the government’s pronounced policy and the 2021 national budget. The National Expenditures Program for 2021 has not allocated sufficient funding for distributing and administering COVID-19 vaccines,” he said.

The senator added he is concerned about the country’s preparedness to conduct mass vaccinations once the vaccines become available, citing funding woes and lack of a clear distribution plan to ensure immediate access to, and efficient transportation, storage, and distribution of the vaccines.

He said the government should lay the groundwork for distribution as soon as possible.

“Buying the vaccine is not the end-all-be-all solution. It will require substantial funding and complex logistics. Who will administer the vaccines? Should we hire additional staff? Is the current DOH workforce enough to administer it to 20 million Filipinos? Where do we plan to store the vaccines?” Drilon said.

“The lack of clarity about these very critical matters will spell trouble next year,” he concluded.

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