DOF: $100M out of $1.2B loans have been obligated for vaccine purchase

The Philippine government has so far obligated around $100 million out of the $1.2-billion loans it secured from multilateral lenders to purchase COVID-19 vaccines, a top official of the Department of Finance (DOF) said Friday.

To recall, the government secured $500 million from the World Bank, $400 million from the Asian Development Bank, and $300 million from the Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank as project loan financing for the country’s procurement of vaccines.

“How much has been drawn from the facility to pay for the vaccines? I think, right now $100 million pa lang ang nado-drawn,” Finance Undersecretary Mark Dennis Joven said during the Laging Handa briefing.

Explaining why only a small amount has been obligated for vaccine procurement, Joven said the government is ensuring that vaccines are ready for delivery before it pays for it.

“Para hindi maipit na nagbayad tayo ng pera pero di natin nakuha yung vaccine (So that we won't fail to secure the vaccines we procured even if we paid in advance),” the Finance official said.

“Obligated means there are contracts already signed to procure vaccines,” he said.

So far, a total of 3.5 million doses of Sinovac vaccines have been delivered to the Philippines, 2.5 million of which were purchased while the rest were donated.

Meanwhile, 525,600 doses of AstraZeneca vaccines have been delivered to the country which are donations under the global COVAX facility.

Joven said that on top of the $1.2 billion in loans secured from multilateral lenders, the national budget this year allocated P12.5 billion for vaccine purchase.

“We have available funds of P72.5 billion for the vaccine program,” he said.

The Finance official said that there are contracts for vaccine procurement that were not yet signed “but we have locked in the supply already.”

“Right now, pumapasok na Sinovac and some of AstraZeneca... and soon some of Moderna and some Pfizer. These are financed by multilateral sources and some of which are also financed by the budget by the P12.5 billion,” Joven said. — MDM/RSJ, GMA News