Union of Local Authorities of the Philippines (ULAP) National President and Quirino Governor Dax Cua urged Congress to pass proposals to allow local government units (LGUs) to expeditiously procure Covid-19 vaccines, and said on Friday that empowering LGUs to secure vaccines for their constituents was consistent with the government’s “local government-led, national government-enabled” National Action Plan Against Covid-19––which includes the deployment of vaccines.
Cua pointed out that “from day one, LGUs have been the tip of the spear in government efforts to contain the Covid-19 outbreak.”
“This is especially true in the roll-out of the vaccines, wherein––per the National Deployment and Vaccination Plan (NDVP)––LGUs will be tapped to organize Local Covid-19 Vaccination Operations Centers (VOCs) that will take the lead in vaccine distribution and deployment on the ground.”
According to the former legislator, the measures filed by House Speaker Lord Allan Velasco in the House and Senate Majority Leader Juan Miguel Zubiri in the Senate would help speed up the deployment of vaccines and contribute to efforts to vaccinate the percentage of the population necessary to achieve herd immunity.
“The NDVP states that the target for vaccination this year is 70 million Filipinos all over the country, and permitting LGUs with the capacity to procure their own vaccine supplies can only help in efforts to hit or even surpass this target,” said Cua.
Aside from allowing LGUs to procure vaccine supplies, House Bill (HB) No. 8648, or the “Emergency Vaccine Procurement Act of 2021,” also fast-tracks the procurement process and allows LGUs to advance payment for vaccines in order to secure supplies. The measure, authored by Velasco, also exempts Covid vaccines procured by LGUs from taxes and customs duties.
The governor said LGUs remain amendable to entering into tripartite agreements with the national government in order to secure vaccine supplies, and stressed that LGUs that procure their own supplies of vaccines would still be guided by the NDVP, particularly with regard to the prioritization of distribution.
“LGUs are more than willing and open to working with doctors’ groups, medical experts, and organizations like the Healthcare Professionals Alliance Against COVID-19 with regard to the vaccination of our constituents.”
“Kahit LGUs ang nag-procure ng mga vaccine, uunahin namin ang dapat unahin batay sa NDVP. Also, in the course of setting up the local VOCs, LGUs are more than willing and open to working with doctors’ groups, medical experts, and organizations like the Healthcare Professionals Alliance Against COVID-19 with regard to the vaccination of our constituents,” he added.
“The measure provides safeguards against abuse and corruption and at the same time speeds up the procurement process, which is critical in our efforts to vaccinate as many of our countrymen as we can, at the soonest time possible.”
Cua explained that the measure also “provides safeguards against abuse and corruption and at the same time speeds up the procurement process, which is critical in our efforts to vaccinate as many of our countrymen as we can, at the soonest time possible.”
Section 4 of HB 8648 states that LGUs may only procure vaccines that have been issued Emergency Use Authorization (EUA) by the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) or registered with the said agency. In the interest of transparency, the same provision also requires LGUs to publicly post the approved budget of the contract entered into to purchase vaccines; the name of the supplier, manufacturer, distributor, or contractor; and the amount of the contract as awarded.