Benguet caretaker Rep. Eric Yap has sought the help of businessmen in and out of the province for the procurement of anti-Covid-19 vaccines for the 13 municipalities.
“We will help them access these vaccines and we have an agreement with these businessmen. If they will buy one vaccine for one employee, kailangan nilang maglaan ng isa rin na maibibigay na libre sa community. It means that when you buy one, the other one you will be given for free,” Yap’s chief of staff, Kevin See, said during the recent Provincial Inter-Agency Task Force meeting.
See informed the PIATF that Yap had initial talks with Benguet Corporation through his close friend, Rep. Martin Romualdez.
See said the challenge is where to source out the vaccines that went through proper authorization from the government.
“Ayaw natin na magkaroon ng kasunduaan na hindi pa nakikita ng business sector iyong cost ng na vaccine at baka ‘di kaya ang buy one, take one arrangement. There are different factors we are looking into but definitely we will urge the private sector to partner with us,” he said.
See said the initiative of the office would help the municipal governments with no financial capacity to procure their own vaccines.
Gov. Melchor Diclas said they will profile individuals who will be prioritized when the vaccine rollout takes place. Foremost in the list are health care frontliners and senior citizens.
A team will be created to do the profiling of these individuals and those who will administer the vaccines in preparation for the government’s rollout.
He said the LGUs could also buy their own vaccines in coordination with the national government.
The governor said proper information dissemination is needed in preparation for the vaccine rollout in the province. – Ofelia C. Empian
April 26, 2024
