De Lima urges gov't to revisit vaccination campaign, change tripartite agreement

Opposition Senator Leila M. de Lima has urged the government to review its vaccination program and scrap the contract requiring private companies to enter into tripartite agreements with the national government and the vaccine manufacturers to speed up the vaccine rollout in the country.

De Lima, a social justice and human rights champion, said it is high time for the government to step up its vaccination campaign and work with the private sector to win the fight against COVID-19.

"Since the Duterte regime has proven its incompetence in its failure to secure timely vaccines for Filipinos, there is an urgent need to revisit the vaccination campaign, change the tripartite agreements that cause a bottleneck, and allow the private sector to directly import vaccines without the Duterte-brand red tape," she said in her Dispatch from Crame No. 1052.

"We need to step up our vaccination campaign and we need to work with our private sector. Only then can we even hope for anything close to acceptable accomplishment in our fight against COVID-19. Bawat araw ng kapalpakan, may buhay na nasasayang," she added.

It may be recalled that not long after the government gained nationwide backlash for its alleged plan to prohibit several companies from procuring vaccines for their employees, Malacañang announced that all private companies may now procure vaccines against COVID-19 through a tripartite agreement with the national government.

"R.A. 11525 allows private companies to buy their vaccines but only under this tripartite agreement. Private entities need to have first IATF's approval to purchase vaccines. But as we have seen since, IATF is demanding the private companies donate half of their purchase to the government while raising prices of the vaccine," De Lima noted.

De Lima said that such demand is not only making vaccines practically unavailable to already distressed companies but is also making access to vaccine a political tool for patronage politics and influence peddling.

"Buhay ang nakasalalay sa mabilisang pagpapabakuna, at kung ang gobyerno mismo ang nagpapabagal dito, anong silbi pa ng pakikialam nila? Kinailangan ba ng tripartite agreement sa pagbibigay ng Emergency Use Authorization para sa RT-PCR kits, antigen kits?" she asked.

"Kung imbes na pahirapan ang pribadong sektor na makakuha ng bakuna ay payagan natin silang tumulong ay mas marami tayong mababakunahan bago maging huli na ang lahat para sa marami nating kababayan. Panahon na siguro para bawasan nila Duque at Duterte ang pamumulitika at red tape para man lang sa ikabubuti ng ating bansa," she added.

More than a year into the pandemic, the lady Senator from Bicol lamented how the public continues to remain in the dark as to when they can receive vaccination.

"May mga kababayan tayo na umaabot sa walo hanggang sampung ospital ang napuntahan bago ma-admit, habang sa kasawiang palad, ang iba ay napipilitang umuwi na lang ng bahay. This is the unfortunate reality of our country's struggle against COVID-19," she said.

"Pero ang mas masaklap, hanggang ngayon, dahil sa kawalan ng maayos na plano at palpak na implementasyon, napakabagal ng pag-usad ng bakuna, na kung nagawa lang nang matino at maagap ay hindi tayo aabot sa ganito na namang kalalang sitwasyon. Patuloy ang tanong ng sambayanan: Nasaan na ang bakuna?" she added.

In December 2020, De Lima filed Senate Bill (SB) No. 1942, or the "Libreng Bakuna Kontra COVID-19 para sa Lahat ng Pilipino Act," seeking to safeguard the health of Filipinos by allocating funds and mandating the country's health system to offer vaccines against the COVID-19, free of charge.