Galvez apologizes for calling Senate probe ‘politicized’

After calling the Senate hearing on the vaccine procurement program “politics driven,” Secretary Carlito Galvez Jr. yesterday apologized to senators and made a promise to disclose prices – after deals with drug manufacturers are reached and the confidentiality agreement with them are deemed lapsed.

He made the apology at a briefing during which he revealed having a dinner meeting Wednesday with Senate President Vicente Sotto III and Senators Panfilo Lacson and Ronald dela Rosa, wherein he assured them that measures were in place to prevent corruption in the government’s purchase of COVID-19 vaccines.

Also at the meeting was contact tracing czar Baguio City Mayor Benjamin Magalong. Galvez said he presented “necessary documents and proposed agreements” during the dinner meeting.

“I have already explained all the processes in the vaccine (purchase), how it is being done and the haggling over prices. That is why they have really seen how the price was reached. I gave indicative prices. They have seen that our gain is one billion dollars,” Galvez said.

“They have seen that what we have done were with due diligence. They understand the process and the non-disclosure agreement is binding for the protection of both parties,” Galvez said.

Lawmakers have assailed Galvez for refusing to divulge more details on the government’s deal with Chinese drug maker Sinovac, whose vaccine is more expensive but with low efficacy rate.

“I thanked Senator Lacson. I committed a mistake during the Senate hearing and I want to make an apology for that,” the vaccine czar said. He stressed that no overpricing would happen.

“I accepted his apology. He promised to be more careful in issuing statements,” Lacson said in a message to reporters.

At last Friday’s Senate hearing on the government’s vaccination plan, Lacson said Galvez “virtually accused” last Jan. 14 some senators of “demonizing vaccine developers or hurting the ongoing negotiations of our government with vaccine manufacturers and suppliers, apparently referring to Sinovac.”

“He (Galvez) specifically mentioned my name as allegedly politicizing the issue,” Lacson said during the hearing.

The senator said that Galvez, during his meeting with senators, was able to clarify lot of issues and concerns.

“We advised him to explain in (today’s) hearing the same way that he did last night without violating the terms of the agreement with the vaccine suppliers,” he added. The chamber is set to hold another meeting on the issue today.

At a briefing yesterday, Galvez said that the Philippines is set to receive 30 million to 40 million doses of vaccines under COVAX.

“I am happy to announce that our COVAX facility for the Philippines was already approved. We are expecting 30 to 40 million doses for free for all our fellow Filipinos. That is why we are now preparing. The published guidelines from COVAX confirmation is a welcome good news,” Galvez said. He said vaccines from Pfizer are likely to be first to arrive.

“Right now, we don’t have a definite vaccine that will be deployed first, but most likely from Pfizer. We are preparing for Pfizer,” Galvez said.

‘It’s still politicking’

Despite Galvez’s apology, Malacañang insisted that the persistent criticisms of the government’s vaccine purchase program smack of politics.

“In our earlier talks with General Galvez, I did warn him that although General Galvez is a technocrat – he is not just a military leader, he has advanced management degrees from Australia and he is a true-blue technocrat – my warning to him is do not think that the release of information is equivalent to communication. They are different,” presidential spokesman Harry Roque said at a press briefing.

“My warning is from the start, it would be politicized because they cannot find any issue against the administration of President Duterte, now that the term of our President is about to end. So, I think he now knows what I mean, that the release of information does not necessarily mean it is strategic communication,” he added.

Roque said the disclosure of vaccine prices to senators would not violate confidential disclosure agreements. He also denied saying that Galvez had been asked to walk out of the Senate hearing.

“I do not know who claimed that he walked out (of the hearing). What I said here was it’s a specific instruction from the President. But I never said anyone walked out,” he added.

At today’s hearing, Sotto said they expect Galvez to explain in detail the national vaccination plan without violating any confidentiality agreement.

“Hopefully we will be able to elicit enough information to be able to convince our countrymen that the vaccines, no matter what brand, will be necessary for us to defeat the virus,” he said.

“We were shown the documents. And we have no doubt about Sec. Galvez’s integrity and his sincerity to accomplish his task,” Lacson noted. “On our part, we committed to honor and respect those terms so as not to put in jeopardy the deliveries of the vaccines that he said will start within the first quarter of this year.”

Mind your back

Lacson said senators advised Galvez to mind his back as some people around him might take advantage of his integrity in pursuing their own vested interest.

“That said, we advised Sec. Galvez to mind his back, front, left, and right sides. He may have the best of intentions but there may be people pushing him out front to do the talking and explaining to take advantage of his credibility,” Lacson said.

“We share the same goal – to ensure our people are vaccinated against COVID-19, with no room for overpricing and other irregularities. The executive and legislative departments must work together in this regard,” he added.

Sen. Risa Hontiveros said representatives of Chinese drug company Sinovac must be present at today’s hearing.

“As long as they continue to avoid us, or give us incomplete data, the

Senate, in conscience, should not allow a single peso to be spent on Sinovac’s COVID-19 vaccine, especially if they fail to satisfactorily present convincing information about its safety,” Hontiveros said.

“We want to hear it straight from the horse’s mouth because so many of our questions remain unanswered: why is there no complete data yet? Why does efficacy vary? What are the side effects? How much is it really?”

Sen. Joel Villanueva, for his part, is pushing for “practice runs”” to test the readiness of the country’s health infrastructure for a massive vaccination program.

Villanueva, chair of the Senate labor committee, explained that test runs would also allow the government to “fix kinks, plug manpower shortages, and give a realistic idea on how long would it take to inject a certain number of people.”

He said “the last thing we need is ‘organized chaos’ to spoil the day we have been waiting for.”

In a statement yesterday, the Department of the Interior and Local Government said it has ordered all local government units to craft their own vaccination plans.

Under memorandum no. 2021007, all LGUs are enjoined to make necessary preparations for a massive vaccination program in coordination with their respective health centers.

Meanwhile, House social services committee chairman Alfred Vargas has urged the Inter-Agency Task Force for the Management of Emerging Infectious Diseases to ensure a smooth rollout of the mass vaccination program.