MANILA, Philippines — President Rodrigo Duterte directed the Department of the Interior Local Government (DILG) to supervise the transport of Pfizer COVID-19 vaccines to various parts of the country in compliance with the request of the COVAX facility to bring them straight to local government units (LGUs).
Duterte issued the directive Monday night during his Talk to the People public address, the second part of which was aired Tuesday morning. The order would cover not just Pfizer jabs, but also other COVID-19 vaccines.
“Wala ako problema (kung) yan diretso sa local governments. Ang problema ko yung handling. Sir pati yung, there’s always a time of the essence. There has to be a timeframe for that, for everything, from the handling to the transfer,” Duterte told vaccine czar Carlito Galvez Jr. in a taped address aired on Tuesday.
(I have no problem with delivering directly to local governments. My problem is with the handling, there’s always a time of the essence. There has to be a timeframe for that, for everything, from the handling to the transfer.)
Duterte said the DILG can use the police force in ensuring the integrity of COVID-19 vaccines while in transport.
“Sir, I would insist that the DILG would be part of the supervisory team kasi gusto ko malaman rin ni Secretary [Eduardo] Año if everything is done according to what has been planned,” he added.
(Sir, I would insist that the DILG would be part of the supervisory team because I want Secretary Año if everything is done according to what has been planned.)
The Philippines is set to receive 2.2 million doses of Pfizer COVID-19 vaccines by the end of May.