Iloilo Governor Arthur Defensor Jr. said the provincial government has already started looking for credible coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) vaccine makers.
This, despite the pending approval of the proposal to allow local government units (LGUs) to procure their own supply of COVID-19 vaccine.
“Although we were advised by the national government that vaccines will be coursed through the IATF (Inter-Agency Task Force), our PHO (Provincial Health Office) is already looking sang kuluhaan,” Defensor said.
According to the governor, the budget for vaccine procurement will be sourced from maintenance and other operating expenses (MOOE).
Based on the approved provincial government budget for 2021, MOOE got an allocation of P1,055,839,460.
Once the vaccine becomes available, frontliners, persons with comorbidities, and the poor will be prioritized.
Meanwhile, Mayor Jerry Treñas said that Iloilo City is among the early recipients of free COVID-19 vaccines from the national government.
“I’m happy and thankful bangud upod kita sa mga lugar nga una makabaton sang libre nga bakuna. Dako guid ini nga bagay nga una kita kag libre sang national government.”
The Philippines is eyeing to use vaccines from Russia’s Gamaleya Institute and China’s Sinovac, Sinopharm and CanSino by the first quarter of 2021.IMT
