Mayor Melecio “Beboy” Yap Jr. of Escalante City, Negros Occidental said the local government can appropriate or realign funds anytime for the acquisition of COVID-19 vaccines if needed.
But since President Rodrigo Duterte has announced that the national government will give free vaccines, there is no need for the city to buy and save funds for key projects.
“Escalante is a third-class city. We are prepared though… that in effect we can allocate funds for the vaccine anytime,” Yap told reporters in a recent interview at the high-tech Escalante City Command Center.
The mayor expressed apprehension that the supplies might expire if they allocate millions of pesos and stock vaccines without knowing for sure how many will submit for vaccination.
He said he is okay even if the vaccine is China-made as long as it is free.
“Why buy vaccine if it is free from the national government? What’s important is if we can save funds for that since there will be free supply from the national government. We can use the funds for other projects and services,” Yap added.
President Duterte has announced that the national government will give free vaccines to local government units that need assistance in acquiring vaccine. (Dolly Yasa via tdg, photo by tdg)