Don’t delay flow of COVID-19 vaccines, Duterte warns gov’t workers

MANILA, Philippines —President Rodrigo Duterte issued a stern warning on Monday night to all government employees: “Do not hinder or obstruct the smooth flow [of COVID-19 vaccines], which you can see now, from the time of arrival to the time of clearance.”

In his pre-recorded briefing, Duterte said people not involved in the transport and storage of the vaccines should not interfere as only the Inter-Agency Task Force against Emerging Infectious Disease (IATF) was authorized to take charge of anything related to the vaccines.

He mentioned the Bureau of Customs, saying partly in Filipino: “Your only job at Customs is to look [at the documents]. You have no business opening [the shipments].  You are not allowed to do that. I am not allowing you, anybody there at the airport, to open [them].”

Duterte told Secretary Carlito Galvez Jr., the IATF chief implementer who oversees the vaccine procurement and the immunization program, to tap Philippine National Police (PNP) to provide escorts to help in speeding up the transport of the vaccines to local governments.

He also urged officials involved in the delivery of the vaccines from the country’s ports of entry to review their roles during dry-runs that the government would conduct.

“What they call ‘hagad’ will provide the fastest way of doing it,” he said, using a colloquial term for members of the Highway Patrol Group.

The Philippines last lagged behind its Southeast Asian neighbors in getting COVID-19 vaccines.  However, the IATF assured that the vaccines would arrive soon —  sometime this month to early March.

Local governments, especially those in Metro Manila, have been constantly preparing their vaccination programs so by the time that the vaccines arrive, they can efficiently administer them to their citizens.

Meanwhile, the IATF has been moving from local government to another to ensure that they would be ready for the storage, delivery, and administration of the vaccines.

Duterte reiterated that government employees should heed the orders of the IATF officials — Galvez, Defense Secretary Delfin Lorenzana, and Health Secretary Francisco Duque III.

“They call the shots there — nobody else — in the matter of ensuring the smooth operation of this vaccine, reaching it to its ultimate beneficiary, the people,” Duterte stressed.

As of Monday, the Department of Health said there were over 27,000 active COVID-19 cases, with 499,772 recoveries and 11,231  deaths.  The government is optimistic, however, that numbers will go down as vaccinations start, moving towards attaining herd immunity by immunizing over 70 million Filipinos.

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