Quezon City, Philippines – With the plans of many LGUs to procure Covid-19 vaccine using their own funding being publicized, the Department of Interior and Local Government released a statement directing LGUs to coordinate with the National Government regarding their procurement to ensure that prices of COVID-19 vaccine are standardized and that there will be no duplication of vaccinated individuals.
DILG on Thursday, January 7,2020, said coordination should be done through the National Task Force Against COVID-19 (NTF) and the Department of Health (DOH).
According to reports, among the LGUs who have plans on procurement of Covid-19 vaccines using their local funds include Pasig, Manila, Mandaluyong, Valenzuela, Caloocan, Marikina, San Juan, Navotas, and Baguio.
DILG Secretary Eduardo M. Año said that these moves by the LGUs in allocating funds from their local budget for such reason is commendable, but they must see to it that they observe proper procedure to avoid duplication of efforts and ensure standardized pricing.
In the press release, Año expressed his thanks to the LGUs for augmenting the efforts of the National Government informing that they are already on track to purchase some 184 million doses from several manufacturers.
“The procurement by LGUs will be a big help to inoculate more people,” Año added.
The DILG Secretary further said the president has approved the tripartite approach in LGU procurement. According to him, this system should be followed to ensure that all involved parties are on the same page. The tripartite approach will help ensure that the standards set by the IATF, WHO, and DOH are met.
“So, all LGUs who are planning vaccine procurement must coordinate with Vaccine Czar Charlie Galvez,” he said.
Año also said LGUs are allowed to do initial negotiations with pharmaceutical companies but then agreement must be tripartite.
“Ang magiging procurer o mag-aangkat nitong COVID-19 vaccine ay national government pa rin para namomonitor pa din ng DOH. Magli-lead pa din ang DOH sa lahat ng ginagawang acquisition maging sa National Government kasi karamihan sa makukuhang bakuna ay hindi lamang isa ang kinakailangan,” the secretary was quoted saying.
Government’s plan to vaccinate 50-70 million
As the government plans to vaccinate some 50-70 million Filipinos this year, DILG Undersecretary and Spokesperson Jonathan E. Malaya has reminded LGUs on their role for the vaccination program.
The Undersecretary has urged them to prepare in order to ensure that vaccination down to their barangay level will be efficient “for their role in ensuring the success of the National Government vaccine deployment in all fronts is needless to say, a matter of life and death.”
Malaya said that LGUs must be proactive in doing preparatory initiatives, consistent with the COVID-19 Vaccine Roadmap, the government’s national deployment, and vaccination plan.
“As early as now ay kailangang naghahanda na ang mga LGU sapagkat malaki ang kanilang magiging gampanin sa programang ito,” Malaya said.
Among the preparations they should do according to him is the conduct of initial planning to determine the eligible populations for vaccination in designated areas, identification of implementing units, identification of human resources to be utilized, estimation of vaccine requirements, and logistics planning by Local Health Offices.
Malaya said the DOH will be conducting regional training on the vaccination program this month and LGUs are mandated to actively participate.
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