FILIPINOS should be thankful to have Rodrigo Duterte as president. Otherwise, the Philippines would not be able to secure even a single jab of the COVID-19 doses, says presidential spokesperson Harry Roque.
In a remark issued on Friday which marked the government vaccination rollout in Davao City, he expressed gratitude to Davao City for allowing Duterte to lead the country as president.
“Patuloy po akong nagpapasalamat dahil ipinahiram ninyo sa amin ang Presidente Rodrigo Roa Duterte. Kung hindi po ngayon ipinahiram sa bansang Pilipinas ng Davao ang ating Presidente siguro po ngayon wala pa ring bakuna,” Roque was quoted as saying before the people in attendance culminating the start of the mass vaccination program against COVID-19 in Davao City.
The Palace mouthpiece added that the vaccine donation from the COVAX facility is an offshoot of Duterte’s independent foreign policy.
The Philippines on February 28 received 600,000 doses of CoronaVac vaccines developed, manufactured and distributed by China‘s Sinovac Biotech. Four days after, 487,200 donated doses of AstraZeneca shots also arrived at the Ninoy Aquino International Airport.
“Kung tayo po ay nag-rely lamang po doon sa dati nating sinasandalan na bansa, hanggang ngayon po wala pa sana tayong natanggap na mga bakuna,” Roque added.
He also urged the public not to doubt the administration’s policy.
“Sana po wala nang magdududa na tama po ang ginawang polisiya ng ating Presidente dahil kung wala po itong polisiyang ito, wala nga pong bakuna ngayon,” he further averred.
To date, the government has been using the China-made Sinovac vaccines in its first leg of vaccine rollout.
However, Cabinet Secretary Karlo Nograles admitted that the National Task Force Against COVID-19 has yet to draw a plan on how and who should be receiving the AstraZeneca jabs that arrived Thursday night.