Velasco: Letting LGUs make advance payments on COVID vaccines will help return to normalcy

House Speaker Lord Allan Velasco on Thursday welcomed the decision of President Rodrigo Duterte to sign the memorandum allowing local government units to make advance payment for the purchase of COVID-19 vaccines, saying this will help LGUs to return to normalcy.

"We welcome and laud the move of President Rodrigo Duterte allowing our local government units (LGUs) to make advance payment for the purchase of COVID-19 vaccines under a memorandum the Chief Executive has signed," Velasco said in a statement.

"The President’s signing of the memorandum will also help our LGUs transition to some kind of normalcy as we aim to further open the economy to help the business sector reopen and re-employ those who have been displaced by the pandemic," he added.

Velasco said this is an important step in the fight against COVID-19 pandemic as it will allow the fast purchase of vaccines by LGUs.

Presidential spokesman Harry Roque said Duterte is set to issue the memorandum allowing LGUs to make an advance payment in the procurement of vaccines.

Moreover, Duterte also certified as urgent the proposed measures seeking to expedite the purchase and administration of vaccines, according to vaccine czar Carlito Galvez Jr.

The bills also seek to create an indemnity fund, which shall only be used to compensate any vaccinated individual who will experience severe adverse effect after being inoculated.

Galvez had said the absence of such indemnification agreement has delayed the arrival of the first batch of 117,000 doses of COVID-19 vaccines from the COVAX facility. — BM, GMA News