MANILA, Philippines — The national government will make sure that poor local government units (LGUs) will receive COVID-19 vaccines to inoculate their residents, the Department of the Interior and Local Government (DILG) said Wednesday.
“Hindi naman tayo totally reliant sa LGU na kung matandaan natin sa 2021 budget may malaking pondo ang nilaan ng Kongreso for vaccine procurement. Gusto ko lang i-emphasize na itong procurement ng LGU e augmentation lang po ito whether or not may pondo ang LGU, may national vaccination program ang ating pamahalaan,” DILG Undersecretary Jonathan Malaya said over ABS-CBN Teleradyo when asked about LGUs that do not have enough funds to purchase vaccines.
(We are not totally reliant on LGUs because if you recall, Congress allotted funds for vaccine procurement under the 2021 budget. I want to emphasize that this procurement of LGUs is an augmentation of whether or not they have funds, and the national government has its own vaccination program.)
“Walang dapat ikabahala ang maliliit at mga mahihirap na mga LGU kasi whether or not mayroong po silang pambili ng bakuna, bibilhan sila ng bakuna ng national governemnt. Ang iroroll out ng national government ang bakunang dumaan sa vaccine expert panel at ito ay aprubado ng Food and Drug Administration,” Malaya, also the interior department’s spokesman, added.
(There is nothing for poor and small LGUs to worry about because whether or not they have funds to buy vaccines, the national government will buy vaccines for them. The national government will buy vaccines that underwent a process from the vaccine expert panel and that it is approved by the FDA.)
The national government and LGUs have already signed deals with international drugmakers such as AstraZeneca, India’s Covovax, and China’s Sinovac Biotech for vaccine supply.
Most cities in Metro Manila have allocated funds and sealed agreements with AstraZeneca for their vaccination program.
Last month, President Rodrigo Duterte signed 2021 budget into law, which earmarked P72.5 billion for purchase of storage, transportation and distribution of Covid-19 vaccines.