Robredo to gov't: Don't make it difficult for private sector to get vaccines

Vice President Leni Robredo on Sunday appealed to the government not to impose difficult restrictions on private companies that would participate in the vaccination against COVID-19.

"Private sector is a big, big help. Pero sana let us not over regulate. Let us not make it difficult for private companies to participate. Wala sigurong problema for bigger companies," Robredo said in a post on Facebook.

(Let's not overregulate. It won't be a problem for bigger companies)

"But for smaller businesses who only want to make their employees safe para makapag bukas na ng negosyo, huwag na natin masyadong pahirapan pa," she said.

(But for smaller businesses who only want their employees safe to reopen their business, let's not make it difficult for them.)

"Okay naman to have rules and parameters, pero sana don’t make it too difficult for them. After all, for every Filipino who gets the vaccine, the entire community benefits," she further said.

Also, the vice president asked the national government to "capacitate and help" local government units who want to invest in the anti-COVID-19 drug to inoculate their constituents.

Presidential Adviser for Entrepreneurship and Go Negosyo founder Joey Concepcion earlier said that there is no need for private firms to donate their purchased vaccines to the government, but only for some specific brands such as Moderna, Novavax and Covaxin.

For vaccines made by British drugmaker AstraZeneca, private sector still needs to pay and donate half of its supply to the government.

President Rodrigo Duterte signed the Vaccination Program Act of 2021, which allows the private sector to purchase vaccines for their own use through a multiparty agreement. —Consuelo Marquez/KG, GMA News