ANGELES CITY – Mayor Carmelo “Pogi” Lazatin, Jr. has allotted P25 million for the procurement of COVID-19 vaccines, and will prioritize frontline medical workers and those who belong to marginalized sectors.
He also wrote Department of Health (DOH) Secretary Francisco Duque and sought the agency’s assistance for a counterpart P50 million fund for the procurement of COVID-19 vaccines.
Mayor Lazatin expressed his desire to extend the provision of COVID-19 vaccines to the city’s entire population.
“We would also like to request the DOH for assistance in the procurement of vaccines and in its distribution to the community. We want to exhaust all means to ensure that all residents of Angeles City, especially the members of vulnerable sectors will receive free vaccine against the virus,” Mayor Lazatin wrote in his letter.
The city’s Executive Budget 2021 has been limited to only P2 billion due to the economic consequences of the pandemic.
If the request of assistance from the DOH will be approved, the vaccine procurement of the Angeles City local government would bring the total budget to P75 million.
According to Mayor Lazatin, this move, as part of the city’s COVID-19 prevention efforts, is a priority to safeguard Angeleños from the virus.
“If the assistance will be approved, it would be instrumental in ensuring that more members in the community will receive protection from COVID-19,” he stressed.
He then thanked the DOH, as well as the Inter-Agency Task Force (IATF) for always extending a helping hand to assist the city government in its fight against COVID-19.