Senators are pressing for another Committee of the Whole inquiry to ensure transparency on the use of billions of pesos in funding the government’s Covid-19 vaccine program.
Among those who sought a detailed, updated report from the Executive on what funds have so far been obtained and used for the vaccines are Senators Panfilo Lacson, Francis Pangilinan and Minority Leader Franklin M. Drilon.
Their push for an inquiry comes on the heels of a request for additional funding for vaccines to be included in the annual budget, even as the government has borrowed money for the purpose, and received donations of vaccines.
In demanding transparency, Lacson said Tuesday he wants health authorities to explain supposed need for an additional P25 billion supposedly to procure Covid-19 vaccines.
Lacson said the P25 billion, when added to the existing P82.5-billion appropriations for vaccines this year, could result in an oversupply of vaccines—or worse, be lost to corruption.
“Based on the arithmetic I did, the P107.5 billion is way too much for buying the vaccines needed to achieve herd immunity—unless they know something we don’t. But the bottom line is, it is not their money, it’s the public’s. I can only hope the excess amount will not go to corruption,” he said.
“More importantly, has the government made a commitment to procure the vaccines at such prices? It is important that the officials concerned explain how they will spend the amount. If they have not committed to buy yet, they should exercise restraint in spending our resources which are severely limited already due to the pandemic,” he added.
Lacson said that if the P107.5 billion were to be used to buy Moderna vaccines at $26.83 (P1,383) per dose, it would buy 83.78 million doses. If the amount were to buy Sinovac brand vaccines at P683 per dose, it would be enough for 157 million doses, or more than 75 million Filipinos—more than the targeted 70 million to attain herd immunity.
“Hindi sa nagbibintang tayo pero nag-iingat tayo. Pera nating lahat yan, hindi nila pera ’yan [We are not accusing anyone but we should be careful with public funds. It’s the people’s money, not money of some individuals],” Lacson stressed.
He added that if needed, he will strongly suggest to Senate President Vicente Sotto III to have the officials concerned explain this to the Senate exercising its oversight functions, as a Committee of the Whole.
On the other hand, he said, the officials concerned may explain the spending through other platforms. He added they can also take the matter up with vaccine czar Carlito Galvez Jr., who he said has asked for a meeting with senators.
“I hope they can be more transparent,” he said.
Pangilinan: Senate hearing needed
For his part, opposition Senator Francis Pangilinan asserted that additional spending on the procurement of Covid-19 vaccines needs to be subjected to a Senate hearing.
Earlier, Budget Secretary Wendel Avisado said the Duterte administration needs an additional P25 billion on top of the P82.5 billion allocated for vaccine procurement under the Bayanihan to Recover As One Act or Bayanihan 2.
“We have to scrutinize this suggestion to enlighten the public on the vaccine budget shortage. How come the budgeted amount remain insufficient? Where did the money go? There are lot of questions to be answered that would necessitate a Committee of the Whole meeting,” Pangilinan said in Filipino.
The Senate Committee of the Whole convened early this year to probe the government’s Covid-19 vaccination plan following a privilege speech delivered by Pangilinan in December 2020.
The senator asserted, however, that it is once again time to check on the progress of the vaccine roll out half a year later.
“We wrote to Senate President Sotto about this matter last March and he said that he is open to reconvening. We hope we can do so even while in sine die adjournment so we can take necessary steps to further improve our vaccine roll-out,” Pangilinan said.
Other signatories to the letter are Senate President Pro Tempore Ralph Recto, Minority Leader Franklin Drilon, and Senators Risa Hontiveros, Leila de Lima, and Nancy Binay.
Budget Secretary Avisado also announced that President Duterte has approved the release of an additional P2.5 billion from the 2021 contingency fund for the procurement of 4 million doses of Covid-19 vaccine.
The Department of Budget and Management further noted that it has already released P59.39 billion of the P70-billion budget of the Department of Health for vaccine procurement.
As of June 6, a total of 9,329,050 vaccines have so far been delivered to the Philippines from various manufacturers. Of the 6.5 million Sinovac vaccines, 5.5 million were purchased by the government and 1 million were donated.
Some 2.5 million AstraZeneca and 193,050 Pfizer vaccine doses also arrived from the Covax facility.
The Philippines has so far administered 5,180,721 doses of vaccine, with 3,974,350 for the first dose and 1,206,371 for the second dose as of May 30, 2021.
‘Cash sweep’ needed
Earlier on Monday, Senate Minority Leader Franklin M. Drilon suggested that government do another round of “cash sweep” to identify and generate funds to cover the payment for Covid-19 vaccines and their immediate rollout when the bulk of the vaccines arrive. Drilon, however, said the funding sources should also be scrutinized, noting how billions in contingency funds are already being used for unclear purposes.
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