(Eagle News)–President Rodrigo Duterte on Monday, Nov. 2, designated Secretary Carlito Galvez Jr. as the sole negotiator for the procurement of COVID-19 vaccines in the country.
In assigning the role to Galvez, who is also the country’s COVID-19 national action plan chief implementer, the President noted he had “good faith” in Galvez that he would “really come up with the solutions to the problem.”
“Ang pagbili ng bakuna, negotiate, manufacture, production o distribution is binigay ko kay Secretary Galvez,” the President said in a meeting with his Cabinet.
Earlier, the President said that while the country already had the money for the vaccine, “I will still have to look for more money because you know there are now 130 million Filipinos. And to me ideally, all should have the vaccine — no exception.”
The President has said that he preferred vaccines coming from either China or Russia.
The Department of Health has announced that both countries have expressed their intention to conduct clinical trials in the country.
Science and Technology Secretary Fortunato dela Peña has said that based on an optimistic scenario, clinical trials will end by mid-2021.
“And between the end of trials, to the approval by the (Food and Drug Administration) for application, for use, and the actual vaccination, mass vaccination, it will still take some time. Our original estimate of mid-2021 is still the most optimistic,” he had said.
So far, Philippine COVID-19 cases have reached 385,400.