Duterte: National recovery from COVID-19 crisis within sight

President Rodrigo Duterte on Thursday expressed optimism that the Philippines would recover from the COVID-19 pandemic as the government prepares for its mass vaccination program this year.

“There is light at the end of the tunnel. National recovery is within sight,” Duterte said in a video message at the signing of the tripartite agreement involving the local government units and private sector for additional 17 million doses of AstraZeneca vaccine.

The President also hailed the business community and the LGUs for their support to the fight against COVID-19.

“Our tripartite agreement is a true showcase of unity, of purpose, and principled partnership benefitting our public. This is bayanihan at work,” he said.

The Philippines expects to receive the first vaccine delivery in February that will be used to inoculate the country’s health workers before distributing the vaccines to the general population. The government aims to vaccinate up to 70 million people in 2021 alone.

“Together, we can ensure a safe, sure and secure rollout of our national immunization program,” Duterte said. “We now have the weapon to defeat this virus, the vaccine, and let us win the war and save lives and livelihoods.”

The Philippines is seen to lag behind its peers in the Asia Pacific region in terms of fully recovering from the recession which resulted from the global health crisis, according to Moody’s Analytics. Malacañang said it would disprove the forecast. -MDM, GMA News