Duque: Locsin has no basis for ‘dropped the ball’ comment on syringe deal

Health Secretary Francisco Duque III (File photo from the Senate Public Relations and Information Bureau)

MANILA, Philippines — Health Secretary Francisco Duque III on Monday refuted Foreign Affairs Secretary Teodoro Locsin Jr.’s claim that the government “dropped the ball again” on an offer for 50 million syringes from the United States.

“There is no basis for saying that. Yung dropped the ball na sinasabi niya [The dropping of the ball he is saying], this is a procurement issue,” Duque told INQUIRER.net over the phone.

Asked if he will reach out to Locsin to discuss the issue, Duque said he “will talk to [President Rodrigo Duterte].” He no longer elaborated.

“Sinasabi niya (Locsin) na ang bababa daw nung approved budget contract ng DOH (Department of health) for the 50 million syringes…ang gusto niya itaas namin yung approved budget contract…That is going to be a violation of [Republic Act] 9184 (Government Procurement Reform Act) and anti-graft,” the health chief said.

(He said that the approved budget contract is low for the 50 million syringes…he wants us to increase the approved budget contract…That is going to be a violation of [Republic Act] 9184 and anti-graft.)

Over the weekend, Locsin said the government “dropped the ball again” on an offer for 50 million syringes for COVID-19 vaccines.

“Far as I’m concerned it’s finished; but if you want a fight, Ph DOH’s offer of 4.7 cents a syringe is hallucinatory; no one on the planet makes special PFIZER LOW DEAD VOLUME SYRINGES that cheap; 7 cents is the absolute lowest. UNICEF pays double. Make all purchases public,” the foreign affairs secretary said in a tweet.

Far as I'm concerned it's finished; but if you want a fight, Ph DOH's offer of 4.7 cents a syringe is hallucinatory; no one on the planet makes special PFIZER LOW DEAD VOLUME SYRINGES that cheap; 7 cents is the absolute lowest. UNICEF pays double. Make all purchases public.

— Teddy Locsin Jr. (@teddyboylocsin) December 11, 2021

In December last year, Locsin also bared that the government missed out on a chance to secure 10 million doses of Pfizer’s COVID-19 vaccine because “someone dropped the ball.”

Citing conversations with Manila’s ambassador to the United States, Senator Panfilo Lacson said  the Philippines could have secured the delivery of 10 million doses of COVID-19 vaccines from Pfizer as early as January this year if Duque immediately worked on the signing of the Confidential Disclosure Agreement (CDA) with the pharmaceutical firm.

Duque, however, cited protocols in signing the CDA.

“There was no dropping the ball. Ang ginawa natin dito (What we did here was) due diligence. We cannot be reckless. We cannot be signing documents without legal clearance,” Duque said in an earlier interview.

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