Philippines raising P70 billion for unprogrammed COVID-19 vaccine funds

The Department of Finance (DOF) is raising P70 billion for the procurement of COVID-19 vaccines by securing loans to cover the unprogrammed appropriations under the total P82.5-billion budget for the government’s vaccination program.

During the Senate Committee of the Whole hearing on Friday, Finance Undersecretary Mark Dennis Joven said that the DOF was working to raise the amount  from multilateral lenders, bilateral partners, and/or the domestic market for the procurement  of vaccines to inoculate at least 50 million Filipinos.

The amount to be raised, Joven said, will cover the “unprogrammed appropriations.”

Under the 2021 General Appropriations Act, P82.5 billion is allotted for the project aimed to cover around 55% of the country's population.

Of the amount, P2.5 billion will come from the 2021 Department of Health (DOH) budget.

Another P10 billion will be sourced from the COVID-19 vaccination program allocation under Republic Act (RA) No. 11494 or the Bayanihan To Recover As One Act or Bayanihan 2.

Joven said that the DOF had already started the process of negotiating with the World Bank and Asian Development Bank at least $800 million or about P39 billion in funds for the COVID-19 vaccination program through a project loan. -NB, GMA News