No politics in COVID-19 vaccination, Palace assures

MANILA, Philippines — The government’s vaccination drive against the coronavirus disease (COVID-19) will not be tainted by politics, Malacañang said Thursday.

Presidential spokesperson Harry Roque made the assurance after the country’s vaccine czar and pandemic response chief implementer Carlito Galvez Jr. bared that the “realistic” scenario of when the Philippines can roll out its vaccination program will be from the end of 2021 to early 2022, or just months before the presidential elections.

“Wala pong politika diyan. Kung may politika diyan, gagawin ni Presidente iyong ginawa ng naunang administrasyon na iyong mga kalaban hindi bibigyan,” Roque said in a televised Palace press briefing.

(There will be no politics there. If there is politics in the vaccine program, the President will do what the previous administration did where in political rivals are not be given.)

“Malinaw po ang Presidente, lahat ng mahihirap ay bibigyan ng prayoridad, lahat ng kapulisan, kasundaluhan, frontliners at mga vulnerable.”

(The President is clear, the poor will be given priority, all the police, the military, the medical frontliners and the vulnerable population.)

He added: “Kung gagawin pong pulitika ito, maaaalala niyo iyong ginagawa ng huling administrasyon. Pero hindi po ganyan ang Presidente.”

(If you do this with politics, you will remember what the last administration did. But the President is not like that.)

Over a hundred COVID-19 vaccines are currently being developed worldwide. So far, pharmaceutical firms Pfizer, Moderna, and AstraZeneca have announced that their respective COVID-19 vaccines have shown encouraging results.

The Philippines is set to sign an initial purchase deal with AstraZeneca on Friday.

/MUF