Private sector can import COVID-19 vaccine thru PITC once available —DTI chief

Trade Secretary Ramon Lopez on Friday said that while the Philippine International Trading Corp. (PITC) will facilitate the purchase of COVID-19 vaccines for the government, the private sector can also place their order through the state-run firm.

“Ang private sector pwede rin makibili... padadaan sa PITC para makakuha tayo ng volume purchasing, volume discount,” Lopez said during the Laging Handa public briefing.

During a televised Cabinet briefing aired Friday morning, Finance Secretary Carlos Dominguez III said the government is capable of financing P20 billion worth of COVID-19 vaccines which are expected to be ready by December this year.

The vaccine will be free for 20 million Filipinos at $10 per dose or for a total cost of P20 billion.

The vaccines will be purchased thru the PITC, a state-run corporation under the Department of Trade and Industry. The firm will then turnover the vaccines to the Department of Health, which will distribute it to the poorest of the poor.

“Kaya po pinapadaan sa PITC para sila po ang in effect sila ang directly manghihiram sa DBP (Development Bank of the Philippines) at Landbank— ‘yung sinasabi na may pondo na magpapahiram sa isang government corporation who will execute the importation for the buying nung mga vaccines na ito,” Lopez said.

“The number, brand, volume will all come from the requirements of DOH,” he said.

The Trade chief said that the PITC can purchase vaccines beyond the 20 million target of the government since the private sector can place their order through the state-owned company.

“Priority muna is the poorest of the poor... but nobody is preventing anyone from importing the vaccine,” Lopez said.

“Kung gusto nila pwede padaanin sa PITC,” he said, noting that the DTI will fine the process for the private sector.

There are over 89, 000 COVID-19 cases, but only over 22,000 of those are active COVID-19 cases. This is largely due to the over 38,000 recoveries recorded in a single day per the Department of Health records, a surge due to the reclassification of mild and asymptomatic cases as recovered after 14 days.—AOL, GMA News