By Joseph B.A. Marzan
The Sangguniang Panlalawigan of Iloilo is meeting today, Jan 7, 2021, in a special session to grant authority to Governor Arthur Defensor to sign an agreement on the procurement of the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) vaccines.
Defensor called for an emergency meeting on Wednesday where he submitted a request to approve a multilateral agreement with the national government and a vaccine developer.
In a phone interview with Daily Guardian, the governor refused to name the manufacturer due to a Non-Disclosure Agreement.
Defensor said that the name of the manufacturer will only be disclosed once the Sangguniang Panlalawigan grants him the authority to sign the procurement deal.
The number of vaccines to be procured will also be revealed in today’s session, according to the governor.
“Once it becomes part of the government process, once it becomes a public document. The public will know this once it is approved by the Sangguniang Panlalawigan. The process will take it out of the non-disclosure agreement,” Defensor said.
The vaccine will be administered for free to those who will not be able to afford it, the governor said.
The priority in administering the vaccines are medical frontliners, barangay functionaries, senior citizens, and those with co-morbidities.
Defensor also said that the priorities in the vaccine rollout will be in line with the national government’s COVID-19 vaccination plan.
He said that the province “cannot wait” to be given priority by the national government in giving the vaccines.
“We are not very sure, as a province, with our situation on COVID-19, on when will we be given [vaccines], and how many. We are on a level of security that is not secure, that is why we have this initiative, so that we can be prepared,” said the governor.
The governor also said that there was “no definite timeline” on the procurement of the vaccines, and it will depend on discussions of the Sangguniang Panlalawigan.
He added, however, that they aim to deliver the vaccines in the second quarter of this year.
“I do not have a definite timeline on the procurement and the delivery because of the uncertainties. It is also part of the agenda of the Sangguniang Panlalawigan [in the special session]. I cannot state categorically on when we can get it, but it would be better if we can get the vaccines by the second quarter [of 2021],” he said.
