Vaccine Czar Reacts To “Kickvac” Issue, Says No Corruption Amid Vaccine Deals
VACCINE CZAR REACTS TO “KICKVAC” – The Philippines’ vaccine czar, Carlito Galvez Jr. denounces that there were any “kickvacs” from the country’s vaccine deals.
Recently, Senator Panfilo Lacson called out Health Chief Francisco Duque for allegedly “dropping the ball” on the Pfizer deal. Supposedly, the Philippines could’ve had over 10 million doses of the vaccine by January if Duque simply passed the requirements.
Afterward, Senator Francis Pangilinan questioned Duque’s actions in not submitting the required documents. Following this, he warned Duque of possible criminal charges if proven that there was “kickvacs” instead of vaccines amid the botched Pfizer deal.
Because of these controversial issue, Galvez emphasized that there was no corruption regarding the procurement of the vaccines. According to an article from GMA, the vaccine czar said:
We would also like to emphasize that no government official has access to the funds for vaccine procurement…
All deals will be made through international procurement agreements and all payments for the vaccines will be managed by our multilateral partners with the Department of Finance on the lead
Moreover, Galvez explained that there are several processes before a budget for the vaccine may be approved. He also said that the country’s “fund managers”, including the “World Bank and the ADB” gave “very strict regulatory requirements“.
Finally, the vaccine czar wanted to ensure the public that all government transactions are subject to the utmost transparency. Additionally, he said that he wanted to show full sense of fairness and accountability amid these transactions.
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