Despite “dropping the ball” over the COVID-19 vaccine deal with Pfizer, Health Secretary Francisco Duque III will not face President Rodrigo Duterte’s wrath should the purchase be bungled yet again.
Duterte on Saturday (December 26) cleared Duque of any responsibility in the purchase of COVID-19 vaccines, saying Secretary Carlito Galvez Jr. is in charge of it as the country’s COVID-19 vaccine czar.
“I placed it in the hands of General Galvez. Iyo lahat ‘yan. Pagka nagkabulilyaso ‘yan, ikaw ang titirahin namin. Iyo ‘yan,” he said in a meeting with health experts and members of the Inter-Agency Task Force on Emerging Infectious Diseases (IATF).
Duterte said Interior Secretary Eduardo Año and Defense Secretary Delfin Lorenzana also have roles in procuring COVID-19 vaccines. Duque, however, only plays a secondary role, he added.
“If it fails, then you have three generals to face the firing squad. [laughter] P***, ayusin ninyo ‘yan. Ang ano — they are here to just assist the… They do not take anything from Secretary Duque. So tutulungan lang nila ‘yan,” Duterte said.
Foreign Secretary Teodoro “Teddyboy” Locsin Jr. earlier said the country would’ve gotten some 10 million doses of Pfizer’s COVID-19 vaccine as early as January next year had a Cabinet Secretary not “dropped the ball” in negotiations with the American pharmaceutical giant. That official was identified by Senator Panfilo Lacson as Duque.
Duterte ordered Galvez to buy all available COVID-19 vaccines regardless of the brand, saying cost should not be a factor in his decisions.
Source: Latest Politics News Today (Politics.com.ph)
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