President Rodrigo Roa Duterte welcomes newly-appointed Presidential Adviser on the Peace Process Carlito Galvez Jr., as a new member of his cabinet prior to the 33rd Cabinet Meeting held at the Malacañan Palace on January 7, 2019. ROLANDO MAILO/PRESIDENTIAL PHOTO
Vaccine czar Carlito Galvez Jr. on Friday said an indemnification law, which would provide compensation for individuals who suffer serious side effects after receiving anti-Covid-19 shots, was needed to avoid delays in the country’s Covid-19 vaccine procurement.
“Mas maganda po merong indemnity package so that the manufacturer is confident na merong indemnity law ang isang bansa bago sila pumasok,” the vaccine czar said in an interview over ANC.
Galvez said he would communicate with President Rodrigo Duterte to certify the Senate and Congress indemnification bills as urgent so the vaccines arriving from the Covax facility would not see additional delays.
Vaccines from the said facility would arrive a week later than expected due to the lack of an indemnification law, Galvez added.
In a Laging Handa briefing, Palace spokesman Harry Roque said Duterte had already told the Congress to prioritize the said measure.
“Ang epekto lang po ng certification ay we do away with separate readings on second and third readings. Ang mas importante po ay iyong mensahe ng presidente sa Kongreso na ito po ay urgent and priority administration bill dahil kung wala po ito eh baka maantala iyong pagdating ng Covax Facility,” he said.
Roque added that the lack of an indemnification law would not disqualify the country from receiving Covid-19 vaccines.
“Kinakailangan lang simulan iyong proseso na para mapadala na iyong Covax Facility. Ganiyan din po iyong status noong panukalang batas na nagbibigay kapangyarihan sa mga lokal na pamahalaan na magkaroon ng advance payment ‘no para sa mga bakuna by way of an exception to the procurement act,” he said.
The Philippine government has P73.2 billion allocated for vaccine procurement in its 2021 national budget.
At least 50,000 Filipinos are expected to be vaccinated by February this year. John Ezekiel J. Hirro