The President will certify as urgent a bill exempting local government units (LGUs) from procurement rules when purchasing COVID-19 vaccines, the country’s vaccine czar Carlito Galvez said Thursday.
During the hearing of the Senate finance committee, chaired by Senator Juan Edgardo Angara, Galvez said they favor the measure.
Galvez said the effectivity of the exemption should be until the end of the year, instead of September as proposed in the bill.
Union of Local Authorities of the Philippines President Dakila Carlo Cua said this would be a relief for LGUs, especially since the date for the advance payment on their purchases is drawing near.
He said LGUs would welcome the measure, because they can speed up the purchases of vaccines without worrying they would be charged for violating the Government Procurement Reform Act.
Majority Leader Juan Miguel Zubiri, author of the measure, said the law would allow LGUs to make advance payments to drug manufacturers—something that is disallowed under the Government Procurement Reform Act.
The Healthcare Professionals’ Alliance Against COVID-19 (HPAAC), however, opposed the bill because enabling LGUs and private companies to buy vaccines would bypass the required recommendation of leading experts in Health Technology Assessment (HTA), lead to a maldistribution of vaccines based on the capacity to pay rather than need, and could drive the cost of vaccines up.
At the same hearing, Senator Imee Marcos suggested the panel also take up Senate Bill No. (SBN) 1988, seeking to exempt LGUs and the private sector who are buying covid-19 vaccines from import duties, taxes, and other fees.
Angara agreed, saying the committee will adopt and take up the measure subject to the rules of the Senate.
Senator Francis Pangilinan stressed the critical role of LGUs in the successful rollout of COVID-19 vaccines.
“We must find more forces, more troops to battle COVID. On the front line also would be our LGUs. And so, we support this measure, we want our LGUs to succeed. We want them enabled so that we can have an effective vaccine rollout that will reach precisely that 70 million target,” he said.
At present, LGUs may buy COVID-19 vaccines but only through tripartite agreements with the drug manufacturers and the national government.
Meanwhile, Senate President Vicente Sotto III said he would let the public watch while he is being vaccinated in support of the government’s COVID-19 vaccination program.
Sotto said the public needs to be assured that COVID-19 vaccines to be acquired by the government are efficient and safe, “and the only way to calm a doubting nation is if its leaders take the lead.”
“Lead by example. That is what I want to do. If the public can see that their leaders are ready to be vaccinated amid doubts on the effectivity of the vaccines, they might be enticed to join Malacanang’s vaccination program,” Sotto said.
Sotto said government leaders should step in and help convince the public to participate in the program because the executive’s vaccination information drive is a failure.
During the Senate hearing, Galvez said the government is still finalizing the supply agreement with COVID-19 vaccine manufacturers Sinovac, Novavax, and Moderna.
Senate Minority Leader questioned the absence of a final supply agreement.
“How can we say that there are deliveries without the supply agreements? Are we saying that those term sheets will obligate manufacturers to deliver the amounts stated on the term sheets on a particular date?” Drilon asked.
Galvez said what he has signed so far was a “term sheet” for 50,000 doses of Sinovac vaccines expected to arrive on Feb. 20, while they are arranging the same document for the donated 600,000 doses of the same brand coming on Feb. 23.
“The firm agreement that we have is through the term sheet. So we have more or less 108 million doses that we have been negotiating,” he said.
“We have some sort of an agreement that we have already locked the supply. There is already a commitment to have the supply agreement discussed within this week or next week,” he said.
The Palace, meanwhile, said the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) approved the compassionate use of China’s Sinopharm vaccine to be administered to the Presidential Security Group (PSG), Malacanang said Thursday.
In a press briefing, presidential spokesperson Harry Roque said the compassionate use, sought by the PSG, will cover 10,000 doses.
Earlier, the PSG’s unauthorized use of the unregistered Chinese vaccine had sparked controversy.
A vaccine needs to secure an emergency use authorization (EUA) from the FDA for it to be legally administered in the Philippines.
The FDA, however, can allow the use of the vaccine without EUA approval provided that the vaccine secured a compassionate use permit.
Malacañang on Thursday announced that 600,000 doses of vaccines developed by Chinese drugmaker Sinovac Biotech are set to arrive in the country on Feb. 23.
Roque said the bulk of the vaccine doses will be given to the top of the government’s vaccination priority list — frontline health workers.
Roque said the remaining 100,000 doses will be donated to the Department of National Defense (DND), according to China’s terms for the donation.
Sinovac has yet to be issued an EUA by the FDA. However, it has been approved for public use in China.
Sinovac’s vaccine is being tested in Phase III clinical trials in Brazil, Turkey, and Indonesia.
Earlier this week, the Philippine Society of Allergy, Asthma, and Immunology (PSAAI) assured the public that the benefits of COVID-19 vaccines “far outweigh” the potential risks of adverse reactions, as well as the risk of developing severe COVID-19 or death.
During the Feb. 8 DOH Media Forum, PSAAI President and National Adverse Event Following Immunization Committee member Dr. Rommel Lobo presented the Association’s position statement after recent reports of possible adverse reactions to COVID-19 vaccines raised public concern.
“In general, vaccines are safe and effective. Vaccination saves lives. For the Filipinos, we will only give vaccines that are proven to be safe and effective. And vaccination is free and will be made available for all Filipinos starting with high-risk sectors such as health workers and then senior citizens,” Lobo said
He also added that “Majority of COVID-19 vaccine adverse reactions are mild.