MANILA, Philippines — Senator Panfilo Lacson turned the tables on presidential spokesman Harry Roque who earlier branded as fake news the reported P3,629 cost of Sinovac’ vaccine for two doses.
“We dare ask: Are Secretary Roque and Secretary Galvez saying that Secretary Duque was the peddler of that fake news?” Lacson asked pointedly during a privilege speech on Monday, referring to vaccine czar Carlito Galvez Jr. and Health Secretary Francisco Duque III.
The senator raised the question after Roque during his regular briefing dubbed as “fake news” the reported steep price of Sinovac’s vaccine, pegged at P3,600.
“Ang aking i-a-assure po sa inyo, fake news po ‘yung kumakalat na P3,600 daw ang singil ng China. Ang ating presyo, bagamat hindi pa maaaring ianunsyo kung ano po talaga ang presyo ng Sinovac, ay hindi po nagkakalayo o hindi tayo lalayo sa presyo ng Indonesia na sa bandang P650 kada turok,” Roque said over the weekend.
Lacson also mentioned Galvez’s recent comment that the P3,629 price was that of Sinopharm vaccine, and not Sinovac.
The P3,629 tag price on Sinovac was contained in the data earlier released to the media by the office of Senator Sonny Angara, chairman of the Senate finance committee.
But Angara already clarified last Friday that the data was furnished by the Department of Health (DOH) to the finance panel during its budget deliberations last year.