MANILA, Philippines — Quirino Rep. Junie Cua, is hoping that the measure seeking to expedite the Covid-19 vaccine procurement process would be approved by President Rodrigo Duterte and published in the Gazette before the end of the month.
Cua, one of the principal authors of House Bill No. 8648, said proponents of the measure were targeting for its approval in the lower chamber on Wednesday.
The measure, however, has yet to be certified as urgent by the President. A certification of urgency would have allowed the Senate and the House to approve their respective version of the measure on second and third reading on the same day.
“Gusto sana namin matapos kagabi kaso medyo na-atraso yung certification so naging decision ng Senado is isuspend muna kasi wala rin naman mangyayari, wala naman certification so hindi rin matatapos on the same day. Parang ganun ang intindi ko so sa House, ganun na rin ang nangyari,” Cua told reporters in an online interview.
A woman holds a small bottle labelled with a “Coronavirus COVID-19 Vaccine” sticker and a medical syringe in this illustration taken October 30, 2020. REUTERS/Dado Ruvic
“But ang timeline na hinahabol namin, sana matapos lahat ito, mapublish sa Gazette at the latest, sana February 23 o at least Feb 24, yun ang aming hinahabol na timeline,” he added.
Once the Senate and House approves their respective versions of the measure, the bicameral conference committee shall settle the disagreeing provisions of the two chambers’ respective measures before it is transmitted to the President for his signature.
Once signed by the President, it shall be published on the Gazette.
House Bill No. 8648 initially pushed for allowing local government units (LGUs) to directly purchase COVID-19 vaccines from manufacturers.
Lawmakers, however, later agreed to strike out this proposal and instead opted to retain the current policy allowing LGUs to procure vaccines through a multiparty agreement with the national government and the vaccine manufacturer.
“Provinces, cities, and municipalities may purchase, only in cooperation with the [Department of Health] and [National Task Force] Against COVID-19, through a multiparty agreement which shall include the DOH and the DOH and the relevant supplier of COVID-19 vaccine or ancillary supplies,” the amended bill reads.
Nonetheless, the bill still removes the requirement for public bidding in a bid to expedite the procurement process.
The measure also pushes for tax exemptions for the vaccines purchased and the creation of an indemnification fund for “adverse events following immunization”.
The House bill, however, does not specify the amount of the indemnification fund unlike the Senate version which sets it at P500 million.