As the vaccination program started to gather pace, Deputy Speaker and Las Piñas Rep. Camille Villar moved to recognize the efforts of the government and the private sector as the Philippines unveiled its vaccine rollout plan.
In filing House Resolution 1620, Villar acknowledged the active coordination among private firms, local governments, private organizations and the national government for the mass inoculation that would effectively slow the spread of infection and bend the trajectory of the number of infected persons.
“The apparent show of force among business leaders, local government units and other private organizations in close coordination with the national government demonstrates unity and bayanihan in these difficult times as they believe that protecting the public is the only way to mitigate the public health and economic impacts of the global pandemic that already claimed lives of millions and disrupted the lives of countless people,” she said.
“The government and the private sector are collaborating in vaccination service delivery to the public to bring the pandemic to an end and move toward arresting deaths and uplifting the domestic economy,” said the lawmaker, particularly commending the Interagency Task Force for the Management of Emerging Infectious Diseases (IATF), the OCTA Research Team of the University of the Philippines, Philippine National Red Cross, Philippine Foundation for Vaccination, various local government units (LGUs) and business groups for their efforts.
The country received its first batch of 600,000 doses donated by China’s Sinovac Biotech last Feb. 28. Some 700 “frontliners” were vaccinated on the first day of the vaccination rollout in the country. The Philippines expects to receive additional vaccines from other sources such as AstraZeneca and Pfizer in the coming days.
The IATF headed by former general Carlito Galvez and some 300 companies and 39 LGUs have secured 17 million doses of vaccines developed by drug manufacturer AstraZeneca together with the University of Oxford. The government is also in talks with other vaccine manufacturers for a massive vaccination drive.
Private organizations, business groups and several firms are actively involved in the coronavirus testing operations, quarantine and vaccination rollouts and have invested massively to help get the pandemic under control, Villar stressed.
The OCTA Research Group, the Las Piñas Lone District representative said, “must also be commended for their efforts in updating the public on COVID-19 risks and precautions and assisting the government in decision-making.” ###
