Several lawmakers were alarmed by DOH’s alleged order banning private companies from procuring COVID-19 vaccines.
Several lawmakers were alarmed by the Department of Health’s alleged administrative order banning private companies from procuring COVID-19 vaccines.
In a report on Inquirer, several lawmakers were alarmed by a supposed draft administrative order banning several firms “in conflict with public health” from buying COVID-19 vaccines.
On Sunday, Senate Minority Leader Franklin Drilon said in a statement that if such a draft administrative order existed, the said order was a clear violation of the COVID-19 Vaccination Act of 2021.
“Such a policy was discriminatory and morally unacceptable. The DOH (Department of Health) does not have the authority to do that. Who is playing God here once more? Please stop playing God. This is not the time for politics and selfish agenda. It is our moral responsibility to share the vaccine,” Senator Drilon said.
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The supposed draft administrative order, Senator Drilon noted, stated that the National Task Force Against COVID-19 (NTF COVID-19) and the Department of Health (DOH) would be tasked to review the requests of private companies to procure COVID-19 vaccines in order to ensure that private firms who would be part of the said agreement were “not in any way related to the tobacco industry, products covered under [Executive Order] 51 series of 1986 or the ‘National Code of Marketing of Breastmilk Substitutes, breastmilk Supplement and Other Related Products’ or other industries in conflict with public health.”
Senator Drilon then warned Health Secretary Francisco Duque III that he would call for a Senate probe if Duque insisted on “banning private entities from taking part in the vaccination program.”
Senate President Pro Tempore Ralph Recto likewise slammed the supposed proposal to bar certain companies from procuring COVID-19 vaccines, saying that the COVID-19 Vaccination Act of 2021 had ironclad rules and guarantees that would prevent and punish any violation in the procurement, prioritization, and administration of COVID-19 vaccines.
In the House of Representatives, Anakalusugan party-list Rep. Mike Defensor scored the Department of Health for “discriminating” against certain companies.
According to Defensor, the Department of Health shouldn’t stand in the way of any private firms that wished to procure their own supply of COVID-19 vaccines so that it can protect its workers.
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