President Duterte won't certify vaccine indemnification bill as urgent just yet

President Rodrigo Duterte will not certify the proposed bills providing indemnification for those individuals who will experience serious side effects from getting a COVID-19 vaccine just yet, presidential spokesperson Harry Roque said Friday.

Roque made the statement in response to the disclosure of vaccine czar Carlito Galvez, Jr. that the arrival of COVID-19 vaccines from Pfizer-BioNTech under COVAX facility—a global initiative providing resources for COVID-19 response—was delayed since the Philippines is yet to have an indemnification law in place.

He said that certifying proposed measures as urgent does not guarantee quick passage into law by Congress.

“Ang epekto ng certification [of bills as urgent] ay we do away with separate [days for approval] on second and third readings. Ang mas importante ay ang mensahe ng Presidente sa Kongreso na ito po ay urgent at priority ng administration dahil kung wala ito ay baka maantala ang pagdating ng bakuna galing sa Covax facility,” Roque said during Laging Handa briefing.

“Bagamat I was assured na hindi kinakailangan ipasa ‘yung batas, kinakailangan lang na simulan lang ang proseso para mapadala na ‘yung bakuna ng COVAX facility,” he added.

A bill certified by the President as urgent can be approved by Congress on second and third reading on the same day.

President Duterte, however, has vetoed, meaning rejected, a bill certified as urgent back in July 2019: the Security of Tenure bill.

At least two bills providing indemnification for COVID-19 vaccine takers who will experience severe side effects have been filed in the Senate by Senators Nancy Binay and Bong Revilla Jr.

Under their proposal, the indemnity fund will be subsidized by pharmaceutical companies that supply the government with vaccines for public immunization programs. Likewise, their proposal provides that vaccine makers should reserve 1% of the contract price for the fund which shall be deposited with the national treasury to be ultimately earmarked to compensate those who sustained "vaccine-related adverse events."

Roque earlier said that the Pfizer-BioNTech vaccines from COVAX will arrive by mid-February.

On February 11, however, National Task Force Against COVID-19 deputy chief implementer Vince Dizon said such arrival was delayed by paperwork.—AOL, GMA News