MANILA – Chief implementer of the Philippines’ declared national policy against coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) Carlito Galvez Jr. has been designated as the country’s vaccine czar.
During his address to the public on Monday, President Rodrigo Duterte said Galvez will be the government’s lone point person to negotiate for the procurement and distribution of COVID-19 vaccine in the country once it becomes available.
“I only want one line of authority coming from the task force. Ang pagbili ng bakuna, negotiate, manufacture, production or distribution is ibinigay ko kay Sec. Galvez,” Duterte said.
“Only Secretary Galvez is authorized to negotiate for whatever. I have good faith in him to really come up with the solutions to the problem,” the President added.
During his appearance at Presidential spokesperson Harry Roque’s virtual presser on Tuesday, Galvez said he was thankful to President Duterte’s trust in the “biggest task” given to him.
“Ako po’y nagpapasalamat sa ating Presidente sa kanyang tiwala at nabigay niya po ang napakalaking responsibilidad,” Galvez said. “I’m so nervous for the big task I’ve been given.”
President Duterte earlier said he preferred a government-to-government agreement for the purchase of vaccines, saying it would prevent the risk of corruption.
An estimated P20 billion will be spent to provide free immunization to the priority population which includes the poorest of the poor, police, military, and frontliners.
So far, only China’s Sinovac vaccine has cleared the scrutiny of the country’s Vaccine Experts Panel (VEP). The vaccine, however, has yet to be approved by the Ethics Board before obtaining a Food and Drug Administration clearance for clinical trials.
The VEP reviews Phases 1 and 2 of clinical trials of the candidate vaccine while the Ethics Board evaluates the selection of participants for such trials, among other safeguards that the vaccine manufacturer provided for the participants./PN
