Senators question P25-B fund for more COVID-19 vaccines

FINAL JAB Senior citizens get their second dose of Astra-Zeneca at a covered court in Sampaloc, Manila. —MARIANNE BERMUDEZ

MANILA, Philippines — Two senators on Tuesday called on the national government to be transparent about its request for an additional P25 billion supposedly to procure COVID-19 vaccines, as they expressed concern this could lead to an oversupply of vaccines or worse, corruption.

Senators Panfilo Lacson and Francis Pangilinan said the Senate might need to reconvene as a committee of the whole to resume its oversight hearings on the government’s vaccination rollout and ascertain the need for the added fund being sought by the Department of Budget and Management.

“Based on the arithmetic I did, the P107.5 billion is way too much for buying the vaccines needed to achieve herd immunity—unless they know something we don’t. But the bottom line is, it is not their money, it’s the public’s,” Lacson said in an online interview with Senate reporters.

“I can only hope the excess amount will not go to corruption,” he added.

For his part, Pangilinan said vaccine officials needed to answer a lot of questions on their latest funding request.

“We need to scrutinize this request and make it clear to the public what the additional expense is for. Why was the initial funding deficient? Where did the funds go?” he said.

On top of P82B alloted

Both senators expressed concern after Budget Secretary Wendel Avisado said the government needed an additional P25 billion to complete the vaccine rollout, on top of the P82.5 billion allocated for vaccine procurement under the 2021 General Appropriations Act and the Bayanihan to Recover As One Act.

“More importantly, has the government made a commitment to procure the vaccines at such prices? It is important that the officials concerned explain how they will spend the amount,” Lacson said.

He added that health authorities must exercise restraint in spending government resources, which are already severely limited due to the pandemic.

He calculated that at $26.83 (P1,383) per dose, the P107.5 billion would yield 83.78 million doses of Moderna.

If the amount was to be used to buy Sinovac vaccines at P683 per dose, it would be enough for 157 million doses or good for over 75 million vaccine recipients—more than the targeted 70 million to attain herd immunity, Lacson said.

Explain spending

“We are not accusing anyone but we should be careful with public funds. It’s the people’s money, not the money of some individuals,” he stressed.

If vaccine officials could not face the committee, they can explain the spending through other platforms, Lacson said, adding that vaccine czar Carlito Galvez Jr., had asked for a meeting with senators.

Pangilinan said it was time to check on the progress of the vaccine rollout six months after the Senate opened its committee of the whole hearings last year.

“We wrote to the Senate President about this matter last March and he said that he is open to reconvening. We hope we can do so even while in sine die adjournment so we can take necessary steps to further improve our vaccine rollout,” he said.