Recto wants completion of COVID-19 immunization for Pinoys in 2 years

The government should be able to inoculate a significant portion of the Filipino population within two years to ensure economic recovery as soon as possible, Senate President Pro Tempore Ralph Recto said on Tuesday.

"I think the government is doing its best but we have to move faster. We heard them say three to five years. That's too long. I think our cut should be two years," Recto said in an interview on ANC.

"Kung three to five years 'yan, 'yung recovery mo three to five years din 'yan. So it starts with that," he added.

All of the economic recovery measures would be rendered useless if the virus would not be "tamed" sooner, according to the senator who was a former socioeconomic planning secretary.

Vaccine czar Carlito Galvez Jr. earlier said the inoculation of 60 million Filipinos against COVID-19 could take three to five years because of the challenges in supply as well as in available services.

Senator Risa Hontiveros, meanwhile, raised concerns about the ability of the Department of Health (DOH) to roll out the COVID-19 vaccines in geographically isolated and disadvantaged areas.

“A documented difficulty by the DOH in the Sabayang Patak Laban sa Polio is the low immunization coverage in some areas, owing to the difficulties in terrain. Magkakalayo ang mga bahay at mahirap ang mga dadaanan," she said in a statement.

"Hindi pa ito matugunan ng DOH ngayon, so paano natin masisiguro na itong COVID-19 vaccine ay makakarating sa mga nangangailangan, given na napaka-sensitibo ng bakuna sa temperature changes?" she added.

Both Recto and Hontiveros stressed that this is the biggest vaccination program that the Philippines would embark on and a clear cut plan would help ensure its success.

A total of P72.5 billion has been earmarked for the COVID-19 vaccine expenses under the proposed 2021 budget. A huge chunk is lodged under unprogrammed funds but Recto said he is confident that the executive branch will be able to secure funding for these.

He even said the government should have been less conservative and allocated up to P150 billion for these as it would boost economic confidence. Recto underscored that P150 billion is smaller compared to the country's estimated P3.9 trillion productivity losses this year due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

The number of COVID-19 cases in the Philippines grew to 450,733 on Monday. Of this number, 418,723 recovered while 8,757 died. —KG, GMA News