THE Philippine government is optimistic that deals embarking on COVID-19 procurement would have been finalized and signed by January next year, says presidential spokesperson Harry Roque citing that 80% of the available supply has already been bought by well-to-do nations.
Philippine vaccine czar Carlito Galvez Jr. echoed Roque’s statement even as he claimed that they are fast-tracking talks.
“‘Yun po ang nakikita po natin, na karamihan po sa mga ating pirmahan ay pinipilit po namin magkaroon kami ng initial success this December and mostly mga January,” Galvez said in a virtual briefing with Roque.
“Sa ngayon po, most probably baka magkaroon po tayo ng vaccine sa first quarter, most probably March, and then also mga second tranche is second quarter, third quarter, tsaka fourth quarter but we are expecting ‘yung volumes ng ating mga vaccine will be coming at early third quarter,” he added.
Galvez added that the Philippines is now in the advanced stages of negotiations with five companies, and exploratory talks are ongoing with five others. The government is optimistic to finalize agreements with China’s Sinovac next week.
Interestingly, Galvez admits they are waiting for the emergency use authorization (EUA) for the vaccines of the companies, a requirement of multilateral lending agencies for the Philippines to procure the vaccines.
“Pagkalabas kasi ‘yung EUA, emergency use authorization ng originating country, ‘yun ang pinaka-cue natin kasi with the regulatory requirement ng ating multilateral arrangement with Asian Development Bank at tsaka ‘yung World Bank,” he said.
“Lahat ng procurement natin will be through multilateral arrangement with the Asian Development Bank and also with the World Bank and they require ‘yung tinatawag nating stringent regulatory compliance,” added Galvez.
Finance Secretary Carlos Dominguez III in November said some P73.2 billion has been allocated for the procurement of vaccines — P40 billion of which sourced from multilateral agencies.
In the same briefing, Galvez said majority of the current supplies have already been procured by richer countries.
“Nakikita po natin na talagang sa ngayon, talagang may mga challenges po. Unang una, nakita po natin na talagang ‘yung mga vaccines, 80% po ay nakuha na po ng mga mayayamang country but we are very hopeful na ‘yung clarion call ng ating mahal ng pangulo na magkaroon ng equitable access ay ginagawa natin,” he said.