Drilon to admin: Don’t politicize Covid-19 vaccine program

Aside from Filipinos’ lack of confidence in the Covid-19 vaccines, Senate Minority Leader Frank Drilon said Sunday that politics poses a challenge to the government’s mass vaccination program against coronavirus.

“Sana huwag pasukan ng pulitika. Kapag in-inject mo ng pulitika, walang mangyayari sa bakuna,” Drilon said in a radio interview on Sunday.

“We must prevent the politicization of the Covid-19 vaccination. The Covid-19 vaccination program will not succeed if we inject politics,” he emphasized in a separate statement.

Drilon stressed this as the government struggles to get the supply agreements with various manufacturers signed. The Senate is set to discuss on the floor a measure that seeks to hasten the procurement process for Covid-19 vaccines.

To prevent the use of Covid-19 vaccines for political gains, Drilon stressed that there should be a clear guidance on priority sectors for vaccination.

“We will put in the law that we will pass guidelines for the prioritization of the vaccine administration in order to lessen the opportunity to play politics,” he said.

He added all should receive the vaccines regardless of political affiliation, religion, economic status, etc.

The minority leader also appealed to the government to give Filipinos an assurance that there will be vaccines as the delay in the signing of the supply agreements is a major cause of concern.

Drilon said the delay only worsens the perception that Filipinos currently have for the government’s handling of the pandemic, citing a survey by the Asean Studies Centre in Singapore which found out that Filipinos, among Southeast Asian citizens, are least satisfied with the official response to Covid-19.

“Ako ay humihingi na sana bigyan ng assurance ang ating mga kababayan na darating at pipirmahan na ang supply agreement,” he said.

He warned that the inability of the government to bring in the Covid-19 vaccines in the country at the soonest time possible may trigger the emergence of illegal Covid-19 vaccines in the country.

Drilon said he had heard of rumors about Filipinos resorting to smuggled vaccines in order to protect themselves against the virus.

“Kung totoo man iyan, hindi maganda at nakakatakot dahil hindi iyan dumaraan sa regular channel. Marami akong naririnig galing mismo sa mga private sector in the medical profession na marami na ang nagpapabakuna at P4,000 per shot,” he said.

Source: Latest Politics News Today (Politics.com.ph)