Lacson assured of Galvez's integrity, accepts vaccine czar's apology

Senator Panfilo Lacson on Thursday said he has accepted vaccine czar Carlito Galvez Jr.'s apology for previously accusing senators of politicizing the government's COVID-19 immunization efforts.

The senator, satisfied with the meeting he had with Galvez along with Senate President Vicente Sotto III and Senator Ronald "Bato" Dela Rosa on Wednesday, vouched for the executive official's integrity.

"We were shown the documents. And we have no doubt about Sec. Galvez's integrity and his sincerity to accomplish his task," Lacson said in a statement.

"Sec. Galvez's briefing clarified a lot of issues and concerns raised by the senators that have remained unresolved until last night. We advised him to explain in tomorrow's hearing the same way that he did last night, without violating the terms of the agreement with the vaccine suppliers," he added.

Lacson previously sounded the alarm on alleged attempts to overprice Chinese firm Sinovac's COVID-19 vaccine.

Though the Senate Committee of the Whole will still resume its inquiry on Friday regarding the vaccine rollout, Lacson said the senators would honor and respect the confidentiality disclosure agreements of the government with vaccine makers so as not to jeopardize the delivery of supplies to the country.

Nevertheless, he still urged Galvez to be vigilant for any irregularity that may be taking place without his knowledge.

"We advised Sec. Galvez to mind his back, front, left, and right sides. He may have the best of intentions but there may be people pushing him out front to do the talking and explaining to take advantage of his credibility while pursuing their own interests," Lacson said.

"He assured us that he will make it very hard for those people to even have an opening for that opportunity," he added.

Senate President Vicente Sotto III has also been convinced that the executive officials are tied when it comes to the non-disclosure of the vaccine prices.—AOL, GMA News