President Duterte said that Galvez had nothing to say about the payment scheme in the procurement of the COVID-19 vaccines.
President Rodrigo Duterte on Monday said that vaccine czar Secretary Carlito Galvez Jr. had nothing to say about the payment scheme in the procurement of the COVID-19 vaccines.
President Duterte on Monday vouched for the Philippine government’s national COVID-19 vaccination plan, questioning critics why they’re preoccupied with alleged corruption in the procurement of vaccines.
In a televised briefing on Monday night, President Duterte defended Galvez from accusations of corruption arising from the variations in the prices of Sinovac’s CoronaVac COVID-19 vaccine.
“All Galvez can do is to come to an agreement as a representative or agent of the Republic of the Philippines. He has no say in the payment. I don’t know why are you so occupied with corruption that you’re looking for it. Not here… maybe in your department,” President Duterte said, speaking partly in Filipino.
READ ALSO: PH Saved $700 Million In COVID-19 Vaccine Purchases, Says Galvez
Prior to this clarification, President Duterte said that he had heard rumblings in government circles about his alleged preference for the Sinovac COVID-19 vaccine, but the President didn’t specify where he heard the speculations.
President Duterte denied preferring the said vaccine as he said that he had already called Chinese President Xi Jinping and made a deal with him long before the issue popped up.
According to President Duterte, he told Chinese President Xi Jinping that the Philippines had no resources to develop a COVID-19 vaccine.
Currently, the Philippine government was in talks with Sinovac as part of its national COVID-19 vaccination plan.
However, some officials had questioned whether Sinovac was the right choice because of its changing prices and low-reported efficacy ratings.
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