BACOLOD City, thanks to the contribution of three buses provided by Vallacar Transit, Inc. (VTI), which operates Ceres buses, is now in a good position to implement its mobile vaccination drive. In addition to these buses is one provided by Merzci Pasalubong of businessman Jonathan Lo. A fifth bus is a repurposed city tourist bus.
Mayor Evelio Leonardia recognizes that not all those who should be vaccinated are mobile. ‘If our citizens cannot go to our vaccination center, our vaccination center – through the buses will go to them.’ Good thinking! This is how we can ensure that available vaccines can reach the needy, particularly workers in the marginalized sectors.
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Last week, family members attended the vaccination center in Barangay Taculing, Bacolod City. The jabs were administered by excellent and friendly staff who conscientiously verified safety aspects, such as blood pressure and oxygen levels before applying the jab.
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The challenge now is to, if possible, speed up the vaccination program in the Philippines.
One problem is the uncertain availability of the vaccine. President Duterte has raised the possibility that the vaccination of the general population against the coronavirus may proceed next month, once the country gets a stable supply.
I hope so. Vaccine implementation saves lives and enables us to defeat the virus more quickly.
I am uneasy about the views of some who believe that national government spending decreases the ability of the government to pay its obligations. If this has caused or may cause our vaccination acquisition program to be slowed, then I am concerned. There are those who believe that the nation’s debt to GDP (gross domestic product) ratio should not exceed 0.60 (sixty percent). I see no theoretical, let alone practical, justification for this assertion. The US, which is not afraid to spend, will have a debt/GDP ratio of 115 percent by the end of 2022. The UK ratio is hovering around 100 percent.
Our ratio of around 60 percent is the product of past careful stewardship. We can handle increased expenditure without incurring any risk of defaulting on our future debt obligations.
We must spend on acquiring adequate supplies of vaccine. Then we can beat the virus, and, I believe engender the necessary economic recovery.
