The local government of La Trinidad, Benguet is planning to purchase government-approved anti-Covid-19 vaccines using its supplemental budget and funds from the Bayanihan 2.
Mayor Romeo Salda said the local government will evaluate if it could set aside an amount from its supplemental budget to acquire vaccines approved by the Food and Drug Administration.
“We will still check our savings from those we have not used so that we will appropriate it. The vaccines will be our priority,” Salda said.
He said local government has not appropriated a budget for the procurement of Covid-19 vaccines from the town’s 2021 budget pegged at P525,358,686 which is P55 million lower than the 2020 budget of P580,671,425.
Salda said the local government has also appropriated P8M for the purchase of vaccines from the P23M budget proposal from the Bayanihan 2 fund.
He said the proposal has been submitted to the Department of Budget and Management but the LGU has yet to receive a reply.
Also included in the P23M is for the purchase of ambulance, rental of the Concordia College building as quarantine site, personal protective equipment and food for frontline workers.
Like other LGUs, La Trinidad hopes the national government will provide vaccines for people of the municipality.
The national government has allotted P1.3-billion for the procurement of 150 million vaccines this year.
Those identified as priority areas to be given vaccines are cities that are considered high-risk like Baguio, Metro Manila, Calabarzon, central Luzon, Davao City, Cebu City, Cagayan de Oro, Bacolod, Iloilo, Zambaonga City, Tacloban City, and General Santos City, among others.
Salda said the LGU will follow the order of priority in the vaccination drive. – Ofelia C. Empian
April 20, 2024
